


Wild

by IdiotAnonymous



Series: Wild Alternate Universe [1]
Category: League of Legends
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Creatures & Monsters, Cannibalism, M/M, Sexual Content, Vampire AU, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-01-28
Updated: 2013-01-28
Packaged: 2017-11-27 07:07:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 48,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/659246
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IdiotAnonymous/pseuds/IdiotAnonymous
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fear is something Ezreal despises. As a human, he was afraid of nothing because he assumed he knew everything that was out there. There were no such thing as dragons or werewolves or wraiths; the only creatures he had to be wary of were large predators that are stupid compared to himself and easily escaped from or avoided altogether. Exploring dark caves with nothing but a small light was no problem. Jungles? No big deal. Ruins filled to the brim with deadly traps? Not a problem. But this? This terrifies him. He cannot outsmart or overpower these creatures…but most of all, he can’t be sure if they love him or wish to devour him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Wild

**Author's Note:**

> Alrighty, finally remembered this place exists! Sorry about that! Anyway, I'll keep this short: weird pairing ahead as well as a character only mentioned in Vladimir's lore, which I want to make clear to ensure no one mistakes him for an original character. He isn't. The design I am going by for him is this wonderful one which I did NOT make. Credit goes to vladimirthecrimsonreaper on tumblr:
> 
> http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j430/crazyartistXP/smile.png  
> http://i1085.photobucket.com/albums/j430/crazyartistXP/dmitri.png
> 
> Warnings: violence, sexual content

There are various ways of making a living as a forest-dwelling monster, but to shorten that list it would be best to say there are two: ways that take a lot of effort and little risk or ways that take little effort but a lot of risk. If one has abundant strength and skill to put that strength to good use, then one will likely go for the option that requires more effort to be put into their way of living. That is, staking a claim on a certain amount of territory and keeping it.

In such a large setting as this mountainous, and often forested, area it is somewhat uncommon to come across a claimed area, but when one is found it is a good bet that it is claimed for a reason. Often times claimed land has the most abundant food and water source, making it a _very_ good gamble that if the one whom so stumbles across that land wanted to risk their life, they would no doubt find an easy meal somewhere in that area. The thing is, as mentioned before, claiming land has a lot of work put into it and the creatures that so choose to do this patrol often are exceedingly powerful. The larger the claimed area, the stronger the creature that owns it.

Claiming land has the perk of that it isn’t _too_ often that one has to fight for food or water because not every beast wants to challenge the landowner. Anything within those boundaries belongs to that creature and thus said creature gets a free pick of anything in the area. The downside is that challengers will fight to the death and are often pretty strong, meaning the landowner must keep his or her strength top notch and higher to stay alive.

On the less threatening side, but certainly annoying to those who choose the first option, there are those who will try and snatch food from that territory claim and then run off with it, which leads to the option that requires less work. This option is risky, but those whom do not have as much strength have to find some way to get ahead of the competition. Wandering the mountains aimlessly for food can last awhile, and chances are that poor creature will end up being followed and taken down the moment it finds a suitable kill. Hunting within another’s land means there is less a chance of being interrupted by every living thing nearby, but there is a large chance of being killed in that trespassing means death.

There is a surprising amount which choose this route of life, no matter the risk. Staking a territory claim means patrolling, chasing out or killing intruders, and fighting off rivals; snooping around another’s claim means one must only watch out for the beast that owns that specific area. One must be extremely skilled in hiding their own scent, making as little noise as possible, and leaving no evidence behind of a stolen kill.

These were things Ezreal found out early on; waking up on a bunch of rocks in the middle of nowhere sort of does that to someone. He learned swiftly what he was and what he had to do to keep himself alive. He also learned just as quickly what he cannot do and what he should avoid trying…such as challenging any other monsters of his kind or stronger…like hydras and werewolves, for instance.

He, like many, started out rough and with few meals and even fewer hours of sleep. Constant roaming kept him from being finished off by a greedy hunter while avoiding other’s territory kept him from running into any of the larger beasts…and yet, roaming through their turf soon proved to be the safest way to go about his life.

After accidentally roaming into another’s claim, he found food there is abundant and water is easy to come by. He also learned just how powerful the monsters that have that much land tend to be, but naturally he also found he is more than capable of keeping out of their reach and getting away. He later found two claims in particular that are good to use because they are _right_ next to each other. He couldn’t believe it at first, but apparently the two owners know each other and often work together when it comes to challenges or intruders, sometimes even when patrolling.

Though nervous about taking on the task of having to evade not one but _two_ large, well fed, powerful, and well-experienced landlords, Ezreal decides it is by far his best option for survival. He cannot seem to overpower anything, and whenever he catches prey it gets stolen and he almost becomes prey as well. In a sense, maybe two large threats are better than hundreds of smaller ones…yet, to Ezreal, everything seems a huge threat to him, so he chooses to live the way of a sneaky little leech and steal prey from others’ territories.

Plot one belongs to a large male vampire by the name of Vladimir. Ezreal has thankfully never come face to face with this beast as of yet, but the rumors are more than enough. This guy, with the help of his close friend, has managed to claim several _acres_ of land for himself and holds it all with ease. His friend has about the same amount, but it should be noted that these are separate claims, meaning both males together own just about half a mountain plus a good chunk of woods on the eastern side.

Anyway, Vladimir is one nasty, nasty creature; Ezreal has heard stories, and the distant screams, of Vladimir tearing apart intruders without a second thought and swallowing down chunks of their flesh while his victim tries in vain to squirm free. He has almost attacked his friend, Dmitri, a few times as well, but that usually ends badly for Vladimir…that will be explained later. For now, Ezreal has heard that this guy hunts more of his own kind plus whatever other monster roams into his turf than he does the actual prey animals within his claim. Ezreal has often wondered if this is a purposeful trap for other predators, ‘natural’ ones such as bears and big cats not included, or if this is a complete accident. Either way, Vladimir is someone he never wants to be cornered by.

Dmitri, as briefly mentioned, is the stronger of the two and holds a bit more land than Vladimir because of it. He stands slightly shorter than Vladimir and has roughly the same build, however he has the mind of one that would rather use stealth tactics to hunt over brute force. He is insanely clever and often turns his opponent’s attacks into their undoing, making him not only a physical threat, but an intellectual one as well. When accidentally attacked by his friend, or playfully challenged, he fights with a smile on his face when he isn’t tearing into his ‘enemy’ with those teeth.

That said, Ezreal has heard by many that Dmitri is not nearly as messy as Vladimir when it comes to killing, but he is certainly not humane in any way shape or form. While Vladimir eats his victims on the spot, Dmitri has been known to keep his victims alive for weeks, months, or however long the poor victim lasts, slowly draining and eating them while still keeping them fresh and alive. He doesn’t hunt often because of this, but when he does Ezreal is sure to stay far, _far_ away from his territory.

All and all, it sounds like a horrible place to live off of but…but Ezreal takes it. Thankfully for him, his first several months go without much incident, and fortunately he never runs into Vladimir or Dmitri during this time. He does, however, hear more and more rumors from other leeches, and he sees several remains which become increasingly common as time goes on. It is partially because of this that Ezreal doesn’t dare make friends. For one, he knows full and well that vampires rarely ever do so…he knows should he try and make friends, he will end up betrayed or stumbling upon his buddy’s lifeless, torn up and eaten corpse. Or he himself would be that torn up and eaten corpse.

Ezreal survives fall with ease, winter just barely, and soon enough it begins to warm into spring, which makes sleeping and finding food much easier. Plus, it isn’t _as_ cold each night. He does, however, find himself feeling…well…he will just say that he has to visit the river every day or deal with feeling uncomfortable for the rest of the day. Even this doesn’t help much at all. He wants-- well, _he_ doesn’t want to but his body sure does…it basically wants to try and mate with just about anything living he finds that looks like his species or is around his size. He tries to ignore this and deal with it as best he can; hunting seems to distract him enough to think normally, and keeping cool helps him greatly. Unfortunately, the rivers are usually guarded by either a nearby landlord, which he smells but doesn’t see, or larger leeches.

This aside, Ezreal’s first spring as a monster proves calm at first minus his newly acquired _quirk_ , and he even manages to eat pretty well. He knew in his gut, however, that even though he has never so much as seen a blur of Dmitri or Vladimir, it was only a matter of time before he ran into one or both of the landlords. Sadly, Ezreal is certain of the fact that the day this happens will be his last.

-x-x-x-x-x-

It is a quiet, cool night as most here are. Ezreal sniffs the crisp night air, smiling ever so slightly at the scent of the calm night air plus a nearby prey item. Looks like his decision earlier of that he should hunt a bit later than usual to avoid the…‘morning traffic’ so to speak, of Dmitri and Vladimir searching for food at the same time is going to work out. For one he smells this large meal and two his chances of survival will certainly be higher; Dmitri rarely hunts so his grounds are an excellent place to stalk.

And just like that, the scent of blood becomes overpowering; a buck shedding its velvet for the spring. While the young creature is already quite full from previous meals, it is simply a stupid move to leave such a great opportunity to pass him buy. In the wild, one never knows when he or she will get food again. It could be mere seconds between meals or months. One never knows. For this reason, Ezreal immediately heads toward the area, rushing a bit more than he usually would. A scent as potent as this one _will_ grab attention, and it is a large meal at stake here. He wouldn’t usually race to get something, but this will be an exception as he is especially looking forward to a meal larger than a bunch of rabbits.

It takes but minutes to find the animal leaving such a powerful scent and just seconds to silence its cries with a vicious bite to the neck. The sad thing is, it was able to get a few cries out before dying…Ezreal looks around warily for anything that might be interested in-- wait a second. He snaps off the antlers, which is a bit messier than what he is used to with swift kills, then tosses them elsewhere in an attempt to at least somewhat distract anything on its way all the while Ezreal drags his kill elsewhere.

After about a minute, Ezreal decides he has gone far enough for the time being and plops down to begin eating. Naturally, he starts draining the animal first; its taste isn’t the best by any means, but it fills him up nicely. He drains the creature for the most part before he starts gnawing at its belly, certainly wishing he had sharper claws for this, but his teeth will have to do. It takes him a bit of work, but he finally manages to get it open enough to start scooping things out. Ezreal again looks around, spits out the fur in his mouth, then turns back and wipes his face with his shirt; he’ll wash that out later.

Ezreal sticks his hand in the carcass somewhat warily, fishing around for the heart; they taste the best, after all, so why not treat himself to eating that first? He frowns somewhat, cursing the fact that just about everything in this creature feels the same to him-- and just like that he is roughly pulled from the carcass by what is obviously another creature. Ezreal immediately gets to his feet, taking a fighting stance against what appears to be a first year vampire. After taking a quick look at his rival, he attacks.

The enemy creature doesn’t even dodge, it just meets Ezreal mid-leap and slams him to the ground. Alright, so less easy than he thought. He isn’t even that hungry and he is likely to come out with a wound from this. Ezreal struggles, kicking the other off him with ease and then leaping at his enemy. The creature ducks, which Ezreal hoped it would do as this gives him a chance to turn back around and lunge right away; this time he manages a direct hit to the other’s back.

Adrenaline is thick in his system and his instinct is screaming at him to dispose of this rival, but Ezreal simply slams the creature against the ground as a warning then backs off. He really isn’t _that_ hungry. Now, usually this would be a simple fight, but the enemy appears a bit bulky compared to him, hence his problems with taking down a measly first year. The boy sighs and stands up straight in his usual position rather than a fighting stance, the first year simply turning around and glaring up from the ground.

Ezreal grunts, “You take it, I’m not hungry.” Though his offer seems just a kind gesture, in reality he is more thinking about this creature’s scent being all over that kill rather than his own. Guess who will be to blame for a missing livestock besides him? He has to hold in a grin at the thought of those monstrous landlords hunting this creature down instead of him.

The first year bares his fangs but turns around and heads toward the buck, immediately tearing right into it. Eesh, that creature’s fangs are a lot larger than Ezreal’s; it’s a good thing he didn’t fight, he might have gotten a nasty bite. The boy turns to leave, sadly empty handed but not at all with an empty stomach--

Soon the woods echo a bloodcurdling scream of the vampiric kind as the first year is tackled down and wrestled by-- why is Vladimir over here? Usually that beast is in his own turf. Ezreal certainly gets a start from that and backs up a bit, terror keeping him from turning his back and running until he is a bit further. Maybe if he backs up slowly, Vladimir won’t notice.

In the meantime, that beast has one heck of a time pinning down the enemy, wrestling with it and occasionally taking bites from it as it struggles and cries out. Naturally, the first year bites and scratches and kicks, but it’s no use. Vladimir is a strong one, and this other one is nothing but a simple snack to him. As if to demonstrate this, the moment that poor creature is rolled onto its back, Vladimir starts tearing into the younger animal’s stomach, earning much louder cries and a much more desperate struggle.

Right after tearing open the poor creature’s belly, Vladimir immediately stuffs his head into his thrashing victim and begins greedily devouring anything and everything he can get his teeth into. The landlord acts as if he has not eaten in days, weeks even given how quickly he starts eating and how he doesn’t even notice Ezreal standing but a few feet away. The ever weakening struggle from Vladimir’s prey goes somewhat ignored as well, probably helping in the landlord not noticing Ezreal-- _and the screaming_. It never once stops or lets up, only sounding louder and louder each time. Ezreal resists the urge to try and kill the poor victim and spare it the agony of being eaten alive, knowing he himself would end up in the same position if he so much is seen.

Occasionally a snapping sound is heard, what is likely that beast crunching at and breaking bone, but this is barely audible over the victim’s cries. Ezreal bites his tongue and backs away as quietly as possible while Vladimir’s head is crammed under the ribcage of that other creature. He notes the landlord’s hand positioned at the neck of his victim and briefly wonders why this is-- and one swift movement of the palm later, the head of that first year is torn off and kills it. Vladimir likely only did this due to the insufferably loud screams or the constant thrashing about.

Silence takes them, and sadly Ezreal only manages to make it a few feet away before he stops dead in his tracks when the now heavily bloodied landlord removes his head from his meal. The boy swallows dryly, shifting in place. Vladimir tilts his head back and swallows something down; what it is, Ezreal isn’t sure, but he doesn’t care to know. It’s…it’s a member of his own species…he…cannibalism is heavily frowned upon and marked a taboo in humanity, but here…here it is something that proves power, something that is revered. Vladimir being able to reduce other members of his species to mere meals to him…it is a boast of supremacy.

Ezreal’s eyes widen when Vladimir looks up from his new kill to show off his bloodied face and then those vicious fangs. The boy starts, taking a low bow to show the larger male respect in a sense, basically saying Ezreal knows he isn’t as strong or as highly ranked and knows he would be killed should they fight. Vladimir simply keeps that grin on his face, though it widens ever so slightly, proudly. Ezreal feels a pang of some strange sensation in him, but does his best to ignore it as he backs away then turns to run.

Vladimir does not give chase, which Ezreal assumes is because that beast is much too hungry to do so. The landlord now has two kills to eat, and likely does not care to waste energy trying to catch a third. Regardless, Ezreal hightails it out of Dmitri’s turf faster than he has ever gone before. He doesn’t stop until his head hurts and his legs buckle down beneath him. He pants heavily as he backs up into the nearest rocky corner, feeling much better in his little hideaway.

That…that was just too close. He will need to be careful around Vladimir, even more so than he was already. Partially because that beast has seen him now and will likely try and hunt him down later, and partially because…now Ezreal has seen the landlord he has so feared, and finds himself very fond of what he saw.

The way Vladimir so easily tore apart an enemy Ezreal would have struggled against…the way that monster looked after tugging his head out from under the first year’s ribcage. All of it strikes a cord in two ways with Ezreal: the animal in him wants to try and _court_ Vladimir; it wants him to find a powerful mate given he himself is by no means a strong creature and because of the whole ‘better genes, better breeder, better chance of survival for later generations’ thing. Vladimir is strong, and would no doubt make an excellent mate minus the fact he would much prefer consuming Ezreal to being nice to him. On top of this, the younger creature finds Vladimir strikingly attractive-- but this is again the animal in him. The large, well fed, and obviously powerful male will of course look like an excellent candidate to any monster during the season.

Yet, most of him, the _smart_ part of him, fears that beast and wants nothing more than to avoid being devoured like that first year. Ezreal shudders; it is best he be extra careful in the spring, lest his animalistic nature take priority over his common sense.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Ezreal stumbles forward out of the brush, hurriedly taking a look around before rushing to the river in front of him and then sticking his head right into the water. Immediately he begins drinking and finds himself relaxing the slightest amount as he does so, resisting a sigh of relief. It slakes his thirst for the most part, though there is of course that _other_ thirst which no amount of water will quench…it is a thirst he has learned to deal with, but still finds exceedingly agitating when he can’t even come close to finding prey to drain or water to at least dull the burning sensation in his throat. Well, he can find food, he just has yet to find a good opportunity to catch food without being caught himself.

It has been _months_ since his last drink, even longer since his last meal and the boy is willing to bet that had he waited much longer he might have started to become even weaker than he already is. The lack of food and water won’t kill him directly, but it heavily effects his body and mind…he gets all the side effects of starvation and dehydration but without ever dying from it. It is because of this that Ezreal simply sticks his head in the river rather than scooping out bits of water to drink as one normally does.

This is usually done for many reasons, the most obvious being he can actually look out for himself. The second reason is that sometimes monsters like to hide in the water, that includes Dmitri or Vladimir, or _live_ in it, and it is stupid to put most of one’s self right into the rushing body of water. Ezreal manages to lift his head from the river, panting from lack of breath though unsure if it would actually kill him off or just knock him out until something were to revive him or he wakes up himself…so yeah, it would pretty much kill him.

He looks around cautiously, shaking his head dry before he begins scooping out water in his hands and drinking that down. He glances around the area, partially out of justified paranoia and partially because the scenery is so nice here. The forest is nice most anywhere, but…well, with the rushing sound of water and seeing plants that only grow near a water source just makes it look that much more relaxing. This might just be the point of this horrible trap, but…but Ezreal keeps plenty alert, so he sees no reason he should fear for his life right yet.

That is, until he sees something across the way is another creature in a nice black coat…Ezreal blinks curiously, tilting his head though tensing in case he has to run. The other creature is one he has never seen, and doesn’t appear to notice him yet. Is it another leech? Those are pretty common around here as of late…Dmitri hasn’t really cracked down on them, which probably explains his run-in with Vladimir several months prior.

Seeing as the creature across the river doesn’t seem threatening and doesn’t even notice Ezreal, the boy decides to just watch for now and continue guzzling down as much water as he can manage. The other creature…it just looks around casually, its back to Ezreal, and every now and again looks at the trees, sky, or bends down to sniff at a flowered bush or just some random flower on the ground. Certainly odd actions given where that creature is, but oh well. Ezreal can’t help but admire how that creature looks, at least from what he can see of it…its personality seems rather carefree due to its actions, and its coat, which covers most the creature plus the rest of its clothes, looks _extremely_ nice. Either that being over there is a very successful new year, or a very, very old creature.

It’s probably just the remaining effects of spring, but Ezreal finds himself quite tempted to call the stranger over to join him…but he can’t even be sure of the other’s gender, much less how friendly or vicious that other beast could be. The boy sighs wearily; plus, if it is female, chances are she has already been claimed by Dmitri, and thus will have no interest in him…on top of that, she would probably tear him in half. Female vampires are a rare sight because they prefer ambush attacks, but they are by no means weak, that’s for sure. This would be Ezreal’s first time seeing one up close, though…he shifts in place, scooping up another bit of water then drinking it down.

The creature across the way finally turns mostly to the side, though again still doesn’t notice Ezreal and the boy can’t manage to pick up on a scent yet. A small gust of wind, thankfully in Ezreal’s favor, soon fixes that, but sadly it proves something he never even considered; _that_ is Dmitri? He-- he expected a more vicious-looking beast, not a carefree and well dressed and groomed gentleman. He has heard how cruel Dmitri is, and did _not_ expect to meet the stronger of the two landlords without falling victim to the beast…much less find Dmitri sniffing flowers and looking at the sky.

Of course, when Ezreal stands to leave he makes far too much movement and easily makes himself known in that monster’s peripheral vision. The boy squeaks when Dmitri’s eyes lock with his, one brow raising as the larger creature turns around casually. Ezreal scrambles somewhat, then bows as low and as graciously as he can manage given how much he is shaking. When he somehow musters enough strength to look up, still bowed, he doesn’t expect to see a relaxed, knowing smile on that creature’s face. Then again, why wouldn’t Dmitri be relaxed? That beast can kill the boy without even trying very hard.

Reluctantly, Ezreal begins backing away; he stays somewhat bowed, but swiftly turns around to run. Unlike Vladimir, Dmitri promptly gives chase. Ezreal hears a light thump on the grass a few feet behind him and stops dead in his tracks, sparing a look to see Dmitri standing up fully from his landing-- _that beast just jumped the river_. Ezreal immediately breaks into a sprint, bolting through the brush and dodging trees as best he can.

He should have known this would happen; vampires are much stronger than humans, making them able to jump ridiculously far and high as well as reach stupidly fast speeds. He didn’t know they could jump that far or that high, though-- Ezreal yelps, feeling a rush of wind and hearing another thump behind him as Dmitri no doubt tried to land _right_ on him but managed to just brush against him instead. Ezreal shudders as a chill runs up his spine due to the extremely brief but exhilarating contact from _a landlord_ of all things. It scares him more than he can describe, but he manages to keep his quickened pace. Okay, no running in straight lines. That beast made one mistake in predicting the boy’s speed, but it will _not_ happen again.

Ezreal takes a sharp right turn, which amazingly takes Dmitri by surprise judging from the fact he hears the landlord make some amused sound as he uses a tree to push off and run the correct direction. Alright, so Dmitri, and likely Vladimir as well, cannot take tight turns but instead have to slow down heavily and push off something to keep moving while turning rather than stopping completely. Good to know. Sadly, the landlords know this forest and he doesn’t, so Ezreal knows that Dmitri will make up for it by taking alternate routes if he pulls that move too many times.

A swift duck under a low branch to avoid being clotheslined for Ezreal turns out to be one more jumping platform for Dmitri, whom so immediately takes to using the trees and thus vanishes from sight while also becoming difficult to track by sound. Ezreal would stop and try to figure out where that monster went, but the second he stands still is the second he’s caught. Sadly, he doesn’t have as much endurance as the older vamps, partially because his lack of sustenance as of late and partially because the older creatures are used to this. He will have to get out of range before-- Ezreal stops dead in his tracks, ducking then taking a tight left turn in order to not run right into Dmitri _and_ to dodge the creature’s attempted grab, instead he only gets five cuts on the arm from Dmitri’s vicious claws. Strangely, when he saw Dmitri’s face, that monster was grinning widely in an amused fashion, not an aggressive one.

Whatever the reason, Ezreal doesn’t care, he just keeps running and tries to ignore the fact Dmitri has come dangerously close to sneaking up behind him. Ezreal runs faster than that monster by a long shot, but Dmitri is easily able to close gaps with his jumping and pushing off of things when possible. If this lasts much longer, Dmitri will have the boy’s subconscious running pattern down pat and catch him.

Ezreal tries something a bit different, a strategy he only ever uses for evading other leeches, mostly because he has never been chased by a landlord, and jumps onto the nearest tree branch then scrambles upward. Dmitri laughs, a gleeful yet condescending sound, and jumps right onto the branch Ezreal was heading for. Bad idea on the boy’s part, which he soon notices. This beast can jump much higher than he can. The boy launches himself off the trunk and onto another tree, but doesn’t stop and keeps on repeating this-- until there isn’t a tree within his jumping range and he ends up tumbling onto the ground. Ezreal shakes his head, then starts running once again.

Dmitri lands a good few feet from him rather than right behind him, in other words right where Ezreal crashed down, but continues using trees and rocks to aid his already astonishing jumping height and length to catch up quickly enough. Dmitri tries landing in front, next to, and behind the younger creature, but time and time again Ezreal manages to escape by the skin of his teeth. Each time is a massive drain on the boy, and each time he almost earns another wound. Each time Dmitri gets much closer to catching him.

A few low whimpers find their way out of Ezreal’s trembling lips; he really can’t keep this up too much longer. Dmitri shows no sign of tiring and in fact speeds up and takes another swipe at the boy, whom so dodges and picks up the pace as best he can. His lungs burn, he’s nauseous, his head is pounding, and he is all around exhausted thanks to his lack of food and water the past few months. Ezreal bites his tongue and tries to ignore these as best he can, taking another sharp turn to the left which, with Dmitri’s recent increase in speed, causes the landlord to fall far behind thanks to his lack of being able to turn on a dime. The other beast ends up stopping completely in order to turn and yet not run right into a tree, which gives Ezreal more than enough time to vanish from view. The last he hears of Dmitri is a long, amused laugh.

Just because he is not being chased doesn’t mean Ezreal stops running. In spite of of his horrendous pain, the boy is sure to take several more turns rather than running straight and doesn’t stop running until he physically feels he can’t go any further. He falls flat on his face, whimpering and panting weakly. He half expects to be pounced on and promptly torn apart, but this never happens. He has run through a few caves, jumped through trees, and simply ran as fast and far as possible to get here…he doubts Dmitri will find him. Even so, he musters his strength to crawl under another low-branched tree and hopefully hide himself from view on the off chance that beast is still tracking him.

Ezreal tries to calm his panting and his frantic heartbeat, managing only to stop his pained whining; he escaped again, but not without several close calls and a deep slash to his arm, which he healed best he could while running. He isn’t sure how he did it, however, given it was just second nature at the time. Ezreal curls up as best he can in an attempt to appear small as well as shield his belly from view and nuzzles the damp grass below him; he needs to sleep…he just wasted a large amount of energy he simply doesn’t have. His stomach is empty…his head is foggy and hurts. He closes his eyes and immediately falls asleep despite his still rooted fear of being found as well as his entire body aching in one way or another.

His last few thoughts before drifting to sleep, and somewhat while asleep, are all of Dmitri of course. Ezreal fears the landlord will be enraged after having not caught him…Dmitri isn’t feared for no reason, after all. The boy trembles in his sleep, partially from the cold night and partially from the nightmarish aspect of seeing Dmitri again…all alone in the dead of a snowy night. He sees himself wandering through the woods, not a sound around him when suddenly Ezreal is pinned to the ground by something jumping from the trees-- the stronger of the two landlords of course with those fangs and claws tearing through Ezreal’s soft flesh to get to his insides and bones. The boy would of course be alive through it all as his vicious attacker devours him, and of course Dmitri would be smiling all the while. He has always hated nightmares in which he feels every bit of pain, if not just a dulled version of the real thing.

And yet, despite this fear and nightmare, Ezreal has other thoughts on the landlord, be them by choice or just his mind’s attempt to soothe himself. He feels far under that fear…admiration; he has never been so close to being caught, and though Dmitri was ruthlessly trying to seize him, the creature’s ever present smile and…mostly how he acted while not chasing Ezreal earns a hint of adoration from the younger creature. He sees himself in a much calmer and all around pleasant setting of that riverbank in the springtime, Dmitri sitting down with his back resting against a tree while Ezreal nuzzles the landlord’s throat and face affectionately. There is a hint of fear in Ezreal even in this dream, this much is obvious from his slight trembling while brushing up against the larger male…and yet he is happy. The landlord moves to hold Ezreal against himself, which understandably frightens the younger creature, yet rather than attack or bite, Dmitri gently returns the gesture, that ever present smile having a much less terrifying and more…loving appearance.

Ezreal ceases his quivering and relaxes, smiling faintly in return, both in his dream and in his grim reality.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Surviving an encounter from not just one but both landlords knocked some sense into Ezreal, especially after being chased by Dmitri. He learned it is best to fear everything unless he knows for a fact he can kill it. Monsters come in every form, and it is safest not to take chances…it is also best to let others take the fall for his own hunting.

Usually, ‘leeches’ work together to look out for each other and or share kills, however, Ezreal swiftly decided not to do this after he had seen what happens to those who are caught. He decided that rather than share his own ‘claim’ he would eliminate competition _and_ keep himself from getting caught.

Months go by and soon enough he cannot even list the number of times he has been crouched and waiting for prey, only for another beast to snoop around and try to start hunting as well. Usually, all Ezreal has to do is toss a rock in the general area of his rival and Dmitri or Vladimir, sometimes both, do the rest. Naturally, Ezreal never sticks around to watch that mess unfold. This keeps the territory’s owner busy more than long enough to allow Ezreal to either escape or quickly kill whatever prey he has been planning to snack on. Some might call the whole thing cruel and unnecessary, but in a dog-eat-dog setting, the young boy finds it a lot better than putting faith in another whom might try and do that to him.

Fall descends and once again Ezreal struggles to find food, sleep, or get a decent drink. He has been terrified of ever stepping foot near Dmitri’s river _ever_ again and instead nabs water from Vladimir’s or tiny streams when possible. He does anything to avoid ever going near that river. He might be braver and certainly a bit stronger and faster than he once was, but he doesn’t dare go near Dmitri’s favorite waterways.

Even so, he manages to do just fine…aside from running into some trouble awhile after Dmitri’s chase. Vladimir eventually decides that Ezreal would make a wonderful snack and has tried on many occasions to tear him apart. Vladimir has caught him a few times, usually just managing to bite and take a small drink before Ezreal manages by some miracle to escape, and even in one piece.

On top of this, Dmitri has caught him _once_ and that is something he never wants to go through again. It turns out, though many don’t use this for whatever reason, a vampire’s venom causes paralysis for long periods of time depending on how much is used and on what creature it is used on. Humans it can kill, turn, or paralyze…vampires it simply causes pain and immobility. Dmitri uses this often when gathering prey to store in his basement, this Ezreal can say from a first hand experience. He is still unsure how he managed to escape aside from the fact Dmitri doesn’t visit it every hour and the door was wooden and easy to break.

Aside from these, Ezreal manages to survive just fine out in the wild and even finds himself greatly enjoying hunting. He manages several weeks into fall without running into either landlord after the whole getting caught then locked up in Dmitri’s food storage thing, which is a huge relief to say the least. He doesn’t eat as well as he would like, but he manages to keep himself above starving which is good by his standards. He wins some fights against other monsters, sadly dooming them to a fate by Vladimir and or Dmitri’s hand, and he loses a few, but he stays alive and receives few horrifying wounds.

In this place, surviving alone is a feat worth taking pride in and Ezreal certainly begins to ease into his new settings even if it means he is hungry, thirsty, and tired. He gets a rush from his new life, and a part of him truly enjoys it.

-x-x-x-x-x-

Ezreal slinks into a nearby bush, caring not to get too close to the tree right near him; honestly, he needs to avoid entering Vladimir’s turf where he marks it. As if the border doesn’t already reek of that beast, the marked areas are almost nauseating. Sure, there are deep scratches on the trees as a visual indication of territory boundaries, but as with most all animals there is also a scent marking…which is, naturally, urine. The young creature shakes his head as if trying to rid himself of that scent then moves forward and away from the border, and thus his final warning to turn around.

Besides the obvious smell difference between the two, it’s pretty clear when one steps into Vladimir’s claim as, unlike with Dmitri’s area, it is all too common to find bones littered about the ground and in varying degrees of freshness. Most here are older ones, which is just what he needs. The fact that Vladimir hasn’t killed anything in this area recently means the larger male won’t bother checking here as often. Ezreal smiles and lets himself relax a small amount, taking in the crisp night air; freshly fallen leaves, various woodland creatures, soggy dirt…nothing says that Vladimir has been in the area yet, which is good in that he might not check and yet bad that he could be here any moment.

The boy shrugs; if that beast shows up he’ll know it. Vladimir isn’t the sneaking type, he walks normally and makes no effort to hide his scent or the sound of his footsteps. It is sad to say this usually works in his favor as most intruders start to run away, thus giving him a clear location of where to chase. Ezreal shakes his head; he is all too thankful that Vladimir doesn’t usually check bushes or trees thoroughly. This is not to say that beast doesn’t, it just isn’t too common. That is more of Dmitri’s style, but that guy shouldn’t be here… _shouldn’t_. Here’s hoping he isn’t. Just the thought of that beast being nearby easily earns a shudder from Ezreal; Dmitri being here means he’s hunting and _that_ is something the younger male doesn’t need to be caught up in.

Those thoughts aside, Ezreal continues creeping through the area, ensuring his footsteps don’t make too much noise. He would normally use the trees, but thanks to the season, the leaves are sort of not there and thus will not hide him from anything that decides to look up. The bushes aren’t too much a help anymore either, making things that much more difficult for him. Thankfully there are several jutting rocks and bare trees in this uneven landscape to hide him and anything else that wanders through here. Ah, the perks of living in mountainous, forested terrain.

He slows his pace and ensures he doesn’t slide down the edge too quickly, eventually coming to a stop near a small gully. Ezreal looks around a few times then uses his hands to cup some water from the small stream and splash his face with it. He really needs to visit the larger river downhill to bathe and clean his clothes properly, but _that_ is near Vladimir’s main hideout and is thus somewhere he rarely goes. He could technically use Dmitri’s river, but…well, the larger male enjoys the sound of water, and thus spends a lot of time within earshot of the river. Ezreal sighs quietly, shaking his head to dry his hair then cupping more water to drink this time around. Near water is where herbivores are found, and thus where predators are found…it is only natural that Vladimir and Dmitri are often in the area as well…more so Dmitri, but Vladimir has his moments.

Ezreal perks up, sniffing the air and allowing himself a small smile; well, there’s breakfast. Most herbivores are asleep during these hours, it really is a rare treat for him to catch wind of one this late…but, he won’t complain. He shakes off his hair once more and is sure to cover his scent best he can before heading toward the scent of a much-needed breakfast. Vladimir is usually chatting with Dmitri around this time anyway, so he shouldn’t have to worry too much about either one showing up.

It doesn’t take him long to track down the deer he caught a whiff of before, and it takes much less time to get in a nice position downwind of it. Ezreal licks his lips and shifts in anticipation; just a little longer to make sure no one else is around…just a few minutes. While deer isn’t a preferred prey of Ezreal or his kind, which is well known of course, it is just about the only thing he can manage to get when it comes to living so far from civilization. Sure, occasionally there will be a stray hunter or camper in the area, but some of them have to return or no one will come. Not only this, but it is most certain that Vladimir and Dmitri would be stalking whatever humanoid being, be it man or elf or something close, manages to find its way so far out here. That and he refuses to eat humans…he was one for many, many years and it just seems disgusting to try and eat one now. So, things like bears or moose or rabbits or deer are what he eats.

Again he shifts, quietly of course, and swallows; his mouth is already watering…this is _not_ what he needs. If he gets too excited, then he will become rash in his decisions and then end up dead. Ezreal holds in a sigh and forces himself to sit down and calm himself. He has to wait awhile before making a move. He usually follows prey a few hours, but a deer out this late will catch attention without a doubt. While bears and cougars offer more to eat, they also make _a lot_ of noise and can fight back. He prefers not to go after those unless there is an exceptional opportunity in front of him.

Speaking of which, after having waited his fair share of time, Ezreal decides it is time he feed his aggravated stomach before it starts growling. By waiting, he has allowed the deer to slowly wander its way toward his hiding place, and thus within his pouncing range. It takes but a moment to kill the creature and not cause a single sound aside from leaves rustling. He quickly brings his meal away from the area, more out of paranoia than anything. He moves quite a ways away from where he made that little bit of noise before deciding to settle down and start eating.

Naturally, he starts draining the animal first lest he end up spilling its blood everywhere when he starts eating the rest of it. He doesn’t get much in him, however, before hearing swift footsteps heading toward him. He has only enough time to jump over his kill before being slammed to the ground and held down. His back is straddled and both arms are pinned down before he feels fangs clamping down on the back of his neck. Ezreal cries out and struggles out of reflex, but soon finds this only causes his aggressor to bite down harder and begin tearing into his neck. This beast even manages to miss the spinal cord, which would of course prevent further pain should it be severed properly.

Okay, so struggling doesn’t work. Ezreal tries sitting completely still, but this only causes his attacker to shift his bite in order to hit a major vein, thus beginning the process of bleeding the younger creature out. He hears his attacker, Vladimir judging from the mode of attack and scent, make a few rather relaxed sounds as this beast _drains the life from him_ \-- okay, not the time for sarcasm. He feels Vladimir’s grip loosen somewhat as this beast gulps down any blood filling his mouth, though instead the other pushes him against the ground. Ezreal grunts; he has a small amount of time before he gets too dizzy to fight, it’s now or never.

As best he can, Ezreal manages to swiftly get his legs under himself, thus knocking Vladimir off balance, then dash forward using what little momentum he can get. It is enough to knock Vladimir off of him completely, and thankfully with little tearing to his neck, though it takes him a few precious moments to gain his bearings before running. He keeps his hand to his neck in a desperate attempt to keep from bleeding out too quickly, but sadly there really isn’t much he can do. He is wounded, dizzy, and all too easy to smell.

Ezreal didn’t even expect to get as far as he does before he is again tackled to the ground and pushed against it. He hears a low laugh from the larger male, whom so bends down once again, “Nice try, parasite, but it would have saved us both time had you just stayed down and let me finish.” Vladimir taps his claws against Ezreal’s arm, that is the one held to his wounded neck, then shakes his head, “What made you think you could continue doing this? The fact that you got away a few times when I chased you? The fact that I have sunk my fangs into your pretty little neck several times before and yet you still managed to crawl on back to your hidey-hole? Or maybe it was the fact that you even managed to escape Dmitri’s food storage a few times?” He feels Vladimir’s tongue on the back of his neck, sliding across any exposed part of his wound several times, then he hears chuckling in response to his pained sounds.

Again those claws tap against Ezreal’s arm, this time puncturing skin and earning a hiss from the younger creature. Vladimir stops licking the boy’s wound, “The only other beings I would allow to hunt within my territory would be a close friend or a mate. Are you either of those, parasite?” Vladimir goes silent for a bit, then pushes against Ezreal once again and leans further down in the process, “ _Are you_?” The beast all but growls, baring his teeth mere inches from the boy’s face.

Ezreal shakes his head the best he can, “No.” He manages to say through his teeth, trying his best to keep quiet despite the pain.

“Exactly; no. So, do explain why it is you think it is a good idea to hunt in _my_ territory, especially after having been caught so many times before. Wasn’t one brush with death close enough? No? Not four or five either? Is it because you escaped so often that you thought you would never be caught?” Again that creature’s tongue slides over his skin, but this time over Ezreal’s face. Vladimir smirks ever so slightly at the young male trying to back away, but thankfully doesn’t hound him about it.

The boy grunts, “Unlike you, some of us have a harder time finding and killing food. If I hunt out there, I’ll get eaten, simple as that. Heck, I can’t even sleep out there anymore! I rarely sleep at all for that matter!” Ezreal closes his eyes in an attempt to calm himself; he’s shaking a small amount, yet who could blame him? This close to death most anyone would have problems keeping their head together. His grip on his neck tightens the best he can; thankfully vampires can’t bleed to death, but if he keeps losing blood he won’t be able to fight back. With any luck, that wound will start to heal soon. “Basically, I’m desperate. I have less close calls here than I do out there, even if the ones here are a bit closer than those. You and Dmitri keep me safe in a sense and, even if you both try to make a meal of me, I think I’m better off here.”

Vladimir no doubt smiles, making a sound quite like a purr, “Aw, now that is _adorable_.” Ezreal feels that beast lick his face again and then nuzzle him lightly, the creature’s hot breath slightly stinging his otherwise cold skin; it isn’t suddenly spring now, is it? Ezreal grunts and again shakes his head, though when he opens his eyes again he sees that grin still there. “Adorable as you are, say I do let you go, what do I get? You take my food, you use my rivers and streams, and you send me on chases every few months…I see no benefit of me letting you go again.”

He shakes his head, “I can be of use!” he pipes up, not caring if his tone is a bit loud. It’s sort of life or death, so Ezreal chooses to at least be acknowledged. “I easily find the other parasites and point them out to you and Dmitri! I…I also don’t take food or water often and it isn’t much when I do, and I’d be willing to help you more if you tell me what you want! If you want me to find more leeches I can, or maybe if you want me to help with challengers or patrols I can do that!” He is breathing somewhat quickly at this point, more out of stress and fear than actually being tired. His reasoning seems good enough to him, but what about the beast pinning him down?

The male in question looks him over, flipping Ezreal to lie on his back and grinning all the while. However, that sadistic grin soon turns to a sly smirk as Vladimir lets himself rest on top of his victim, “True,” his first word, strangely, comes out in a sigh, “you do help us spot some of the pesky leeches we might otherwise miss, but…what _else_ could you offer? I have great interest in you…you are one of a few that has consistently escaped us. By one of a few, I mean you are the only one. I do not give a chance at life often, and should you not offer enough I _will_ devour you.” Vladimir rests his head on his free hand, looking down at the younger male, “I will ask again, what else do you have to offer?”

Ezreal swallows, very much disliking where this is going, “I could hunt for you if you want-- Dmitri, too. I, uh, could help out with whatever other tasks you have around here. Maybe cleaning up? There are quite a few bones lying around that might deter some of your preferred prey.” He shifts as best he can beneath the other, struggling to think of what else he could possibly do for a creature that can already care for himself. What _can_ he do? Vladimir probably keeps the bones around as an intimidation tactic and they clearly like hunting to begin with…there isn’t much Ezreal _can_ offer.

Vladimir shakes his head, glancing at the boy’s wound, “I enjoy hunting and so does Dmitri. Try again.”

Maybe…the younger male sighs, “If I let you and Dmitri drink from me each day would you let me live? Not as the main course, but sort of…” he hesitates, but reluctantly continues, “a side dish, I guess would be the word for it. You get enough to _somewhat_ satisfy yourself and hopefully leave me still able to walk straight.” Ezreal reluctantly tilts his head a bit, plainly inviting Vladimir to take a nice drink from him. The creature looks tempted and licks his lips, clearly salivating at the thought alone, but he doesn’t take the offer.

“Hm, better…much better, actually. I will accept this if you add more. What else is there? This _is_ your life you are bargaining for, isn’t there _anything_ else you might be willing to give me?” Vladimir raises a brow, though again his lips still hold that same smirk. What does he want…? It’s obvious Ezreal has something this beast wants, but what is it? The larger male leans forward to whisper in his ear this time, the creature’s breath again hot against his otherwise cold skin, “Maybe something a little more personal?”

…He can’t be serious. Ezreal resists the urge to try and escape, knowing full and well he can’t quite do so. Are the seasons here suddenly reversed? Vladimir _never_ shows any form of sexual attraction outside of spring, and yet here he is pinning down and lying on another of his species and no doubt attempting to ‘court’ him. Court, of course, being a very, very loose term here as it is more of an ‘accept me or I eat you alive’ sort of thing.

 _Why_ is what Ezreal doesn’t understand. In the year and a half Ezreal has been here, he has been caught by both males and had to fight tooth and nail to escape. This time, the one time he has been caught and has no means of escape, Vladimir is bargaining. _Why_? Why not just eat him? Why not kill him? Why try and claim him instead? What does he have that every other creature this beast has killed did not? The boy frowns as he tries to work it out, but sadly he simply doesn’t know. However, for now it is just something he will have to deal with…it is either this or death, and Ezreal is not a quitter.

This…this could work out anyway. Yeah…being claimed by Vladimir will make him off-limits for the most part _and_ it might get him a nice comfy bed instead of the cold, icy ground of the upcoming winter. It gets him a powerful guardian as well, maybe two, and it will most certainly give him rights to hunt here without having to sneak around. The only problem will be the whole claiming part, which requires a mark on his flesh, usually a bite to the neck which so happens is done, as well as a scent marking…and sadly not just the other’s usual scent. Vladimir will end up _mating_ with him in order to secure this little bond between them as well as make certain Ezreal is beyond a doubt taken.

The way this works is understandable, but nonetheless unpleasant. The stronger creature in a bonded pair will mark the other with a certain scent that is only released while mating; this seems sort of dumb at first as why not just the usual scent? Well, Ezreal has found that when it comes to monsters and mates, anything and everything is fair game and there will no doubt be competition. A rival might claim that the one he or she is trying to take isn’t marked, which Ezreal isn’t sure why it matters that they try and justify it, but apparently it does. Anyway, this certain scent ensures that rivals can’t declare their target wasn’t claimed. Apparently, this deters potential competitors.

As for the bond thing, well…usually the one doing the main part of this grows quite a fondness for the other. Vladimir seems to already like the younger male for whatever reason, perhaps because he kept escaping, but this seals the deal, so to speak. Instinct plays a huge role here, as it usually seems to with monsters.

Vladimir waits quite patiently as Ezreal mulls everything over, and in fact almost seems to study the boy as he thinks. Ezreal sighs, “If I accept, will get to stay in your home? And not have to worry about being killed by you or Dmitri, even if I hunt or use the rivers?” Vladimir raises a brow as if questioning the boy’s adamancy on such details. The boy in question frowns, almost glaring at the larger beast, “If I have to live as your mate, I want to be able to live comfortably. I refuse to be just some toy of yours that’s used once then devoured.”

The other smiles almost sweetly, if at all possible for a man-eating killer, “You are in no position to be bargaining, _parasite_.”

Well, time for a gamble. Ezreal shakes his head, “I would rather be killed now than claimed, used as food, and still have to worry about being killed off completely if I take a drink from your river or kill one of your rabbits.” This could either completely backfire or work very, very well…he is hoping it works. He really doesn’t want to die, but being toyed with is no way to live in his book.

A full-on grin spreads across the other’s face, “Ha! You are bluffing, I can tell by the speed of your pulse when you lie. It isn’t difficult, you know…I will humor you, however, and answer your question. When I claim something, I mean it is something I want to keep and protect; you will not be ‘used then devoured.’ On top of this, you _will_ have free reign over my turf and you will be sleeping in my home. As for Dmitri, you will have to talk to him about his territory and cabin. He will not attack you, but I am not so sure he will welcome a newcomer to freely hunt and or sleep in his domain without explanation.” He pauses, looking over the now purse-lipped Ezreal. Vladimir’s grin shrinks back to a smile, “Your call, parasite. I myself consider it a good deal…you get to live, and you get to live well. If you do not wish to accept my generous offer, however, I will have no qualms in savoring the taste of your blood and flesh on my tongue as you writhe under me in agony.”

Ezreal swallows nervously but tries his best not to show his fear…though his face likely paled a bit. He…he is certainly interested in Vladimir, and he will gain a lot, however there is always that matter of trust…but, it’s all he has. Either he tries to trust this beast or he dies right here and now. On the bright side, at least his body won’t consistently bug him about getting a mate.

After several more minutes of contemplation, the younger male grudgingly decides the price is worth the rewards and catches Vladimir’s lips with his own. It is a very brief action, but it is enough to get the point across without having to actually say it. The other grins back, displaying his fangs quite a bit this time around, before swiftly kissing Ezreal in return. Vladimir is quite a bit rougher when it comes to kissing than expected, and he immediately gets his tongue into Ezreal’s mouth the second he has the chance, but all in all it’s not too bad. The younger of the two actually enjoys himself, even if he is getting pushed against the ground painfully.

His new mate is all too eager to begin undoing the boy’s belt, which Ezreal doesn’t mind too terribly much. He puts up a small amount of resistance once out of habit, but Vladimir easily works around this and tosses the leather strap aside. Strangely, Ezreal finds himself very much willing to have Vladimir, the one whom so just tried to eat him for a quick snack and has tried to do so many times over, of all creatures above him and between his legs. He doesn’t struggle at all after the initial one, and allows the other to strip whatever clothing desired. Oddly enough, Vladimir leaves the boy’s shirt and small coat on, yet swiftly removes everything below the waist. Ezreal doesn’t question it, though this means he will have to wash his clothes after this…well, at least he might have free reign over the rivers now. Vladimir, for the time being, only undoes his own belt.

However, Ezreal doesn’t notice the clothing thing much as he is far too busy kissing, licking, and even nipping the one above him; he didn’t even know he could be so affectionate…the younger male shrugs it off so to speak and starts kissing and doing whatever else he can under a very much pleased Vladimir’s chin. His mate groans often, tilting his head up to allow full access to his throat. Technically, if Ezreal wanted, he could tear Vladimir’s throat out and gnaw through is neck here and now and prevent all of this…but he doesn’t want to. He even kisses above the other’s jugular, yet makes no move to bite. Maybe it’s due to him being much too lost in the desire to try and mount the one above him as soon as he gets the chance.

As if on cue, Vladimir flips the boy over once again and immediately removes his own pants as well as anything underneath. Ezreal yelps soon after, wincing a bit as Vladimir skips right to it and thrusts against him; the creature does so again, a bit harder this time around, then bites his neck in the same place as before. Great. Bizarrely enough, Vladimir keeps his clothing, minus the pants of course, on as well; in fact, the other uses his rather large coat to sort of ‘hide’ his mate by having unbuttoned it at some point and ensuring it drapes over his sides. This is really the only term Ezreal can think of to describe it…he’s more confused as to why.

He doesn’t get much time to think into this either, however, as after a few moments his mind becomes fuzzy and soon enough the only thing he can think of is the discomfort between his legs. Oh, and of course, Vladimir biting his neck, digging claws into his flesh, and thrusting against his backside. Ezreal whines, digging his own claws into the ground as if it would ease him. His mate, on the other hand, moans, growls, and snarls loudly and often…even if he is muffled a bit from the whole biting thing. Ezreal ends up wincing most every time he’s pushed against, but he keeps his voice down and never once complains. Vladimir stops biting every now and again in order to kiss the younger male when able to; when he’s not, he licks the boy until Ezreal turns around and lets him kiss his new little mate.

Ezreal is unsure if he is thankful or disheartened when Vladimir withdraws about a minute or two after having started; however, the larger male does rub his lower half against Ezreal’s back a few times after this, likely to mark him better or something. Ezreal isn’t sure, he just wants to have his turn with the other and that rubbing _really_ isn’t helping him at all. The scent-- it’s overpowering and disgusting but something about it only further stimulates him, and yet a nagging feeling in the back of his skull wants him to try and escape. Naturally, escape is the last thing on Ezreal’s mind.

Vladimir stops biting his neck soon after his rather odd actions, the previously fresh wound somehow having been healed for the most part, but keeps right above Ezreal. He isn’t lying on top of him anymore, which gives the younger creature a chance to turn around and pull Vladimir down for another kiss. His ‘captor’ eagerly kisses him back, seeming to ignore the fact that Ezreal manages to get his legs around Vladimir’s waist and ends up sort of attempting to mate with him. He’s doing it wrong of course but he simply cannot focus enough to try and fix it, he just _has_ to ease himself. Hopefully Vladimir knows how to wash an expensive shirt.

Unfortunately for Ezreal, Vladimir doesn’t seem too fond of the whole thing, even if he seems to enjoy it judging from the sound he makes, and pushes the younger male back down to where he can mark the boy’s stomach and the front of his lower half. Ezreal assumes it is another thing in which Vladimir wants to be the one working here, not Ezreal. It’s a display of dominance, which he probably should have expected from Vladimir yet had hoped wouldn’t happen. Aside from the discomfort it causes, though, the boy doesn’t mind too much and allows his picky mate to do as he wishes. Vladimir eventually flips the younger male back around and restarts the whole process, earning a pleased shudder from Ezreal.

-x-x-

Ezreal awakens to a bit of a rough wakeup call a good few hours later as he is pushed to the side forcefully. The young male starts, then swiftly turns to defend himself only find Vladimir putting on his clothing and preparing to leave. He had almost forgotten that it actually happened… he thought it was a dream, in all honesty. Well, obviously not and he really should catch up; he has a lot of new territory now, after all. The boy gets up, swiftly grabbing his own clothes, putting them back on, then catching up with the other-- only to be growled at when at pace next to Vladimir. The boy frowns, squinting somewhat before raising his hand over his eyes a bit as the now rising sun shines in his eyes, “What are you doing?”

No reply. The other simply continues down the path toward the river, ignoring Ezreal all the while. The younger male has to resist baring his fangs as he runs up ahead of the other then tries to block off Vladimir’s path. Sadly, this was another dumb idea, dumber than following this creature in the first place that is, in that Vladimir immediately and very literally snaps at the boy. Ezreal jumps back, to which the other grunts and glares the boy down, “Leave me be, _parasite_.”

He growls back this time, though dares not bare his fangs or crouch to a more threatening stance, “Why not? I said I would help you on your patrols so I intend to--”

“I do not need the help of a _runt_ such as you! Do you _honestly_ think I cannot handle myself as I have been doing for years?! Go bother Dmitri! Leave my territory at once!” Vladimir turns away with a deep growl-like sound and walks off; Ezreal dares not follow him this time.

What happened? Just last night Vladimir was as friendly as Ezreal has ever seen him, now he’s as rude as most any monster. Did he do something wrong? Was his sort of poor attempt to mate with Vladimir what angered him? The other certainly didn’t seem amused by it, but surely Vladimir couldn’t be _that_ mad about a simple natural response? It probably isn’t that…what else could it be? Was Vladimir just sort of drunk or felt like claiming some random vampire last night and Ezreal happened to be the one caught? Or is Vlad just…well, Ezreal doesn’t know what else it could be. He just hopes he won’t be hunted later…

The boy frowns; one thing is for sure, he won’t be able to use the nearest river to clean himself given he has been ordered to leave…it looks like he will need to use Dmitri’s instead. He shudders, blaming the frigid morning air but of course knowing it is not to blame here. Ezreal reluctantly turns eastward and begins his walk, hoping dearly that Dmitri will either not be around or isn’t hungry today.

-x-x-

It doesn’t take _too_ long to get to Dmitri’s river, and when he does it is luckily clear of any other creatures. This includes Dmitri, which makes Ezreal thankful in that he doesn’t have to deal with the other creature right yet, but unthankful that he might end up being found first which could lose a few precious seconds in explaining himself should Dmitri be feeling hungry or just wanting to tear something up…

The boy shakes his head; he has used the river without permission many times before and will just have to do so again. Ezreal looks around a few times, hesitantly stepping toward the river as he does so. He tries his best to stay near the larger rocks yet away from Dmitri’s favored bathing spot as he sheds his lower clothing once again and then steps into the frigid water. This river, thankfully, doesn’t flow _too_ quickly so he has no problems staying in place. He takes off his coat next, setting it on the bank then removes his shirt right after this, but he holds on to it and dunks this clothing item a few times. He doubts the scent will _ever_ come off, but at least he can get rid of the dirt and other stains in it.

Now that he’s here, he might as well plan as best he can what to do next. Ezreal knows for certain he will need to ask Dmitri about using the older creature’s turf before Vladimir either one, decides to call the whole thing off and kill him or two, tells Dmitri he changed his mind and then _Dmitri_ kills him. Personally, he would prefer being killed by Vladimir if it came down to it, but he’s pretty sure he has recovered enough by now to outrun both blood hungry creatures. With any luck, maybe he can talk to and win over Dmitri quick enough to not be killed on sight…the older landlord seems nice enough, right?

…Anyway, he can’t plan much seeing as Dmitri could react in a number of ways, but at least he knows what to ask. He frowns somewhat to himself; where should he look for the older creature? The nearby cabin? Maybe one of the borders? Dmitri could be anywhere in here, and if that beast doesn’t want to be found for whatever reason, he won’t be found. Ezreal sighs wearily, finishing up on washing his shirt.

Once he’s done scrubbing the shirt against itself, even using sand at times in an attempt to help, he sets his shirt on the rock nearby to dry a bit after wringing it out as best he can. He does the same with his coat before setting it up on the rock as well. At least his pants don’t have to be cleaned this time…Ezreal sighs wearily and submerges himself completely for but a few seconds, being sure to scratch at his hair and such in an attempt to better clean it before popping back up.

When he does get his head above water again, he starts and immediately backs up to the nearby rocks…as if this will do him any good. Dmitri stands but a few feet away on the riverbank, wearing his usual black coat covering just about all of him. He has those saw-like blades on his shoulders as well, which don’t look as if they would be much use where they are but…Ezreal shudders; he has seen those things in action and it is _not_ a pretty sight. As usual, though, the other male is smiling pleasantly, keeping his eyes locked on Ezreal, whom so trembles both from the frigid river water mixed with even colder air as well as being eyed like a breakfast item.

Ezreal gives a hesitant smile to the other, reaching for his shirt, even if it is drenched, and slipping it on as best he can. He puts on his coat as well simply because it makes him feel better to have two sets of clothing rather than one over him…even if claws will slice right through both. Ezreal keeps near the rocks as he steps out of the water, rather shamed by being seen like this for obvious reasons, as he quickly collects the rest of his clothing and slips it on. He stays a good few feet away from Dmitri this entire time for the reason that he is unsure what the other might do.

Unlike Vladimir, Dmitri never makes his thoughts clear or his intentions known, making him near impossible to predict unless one knows him well. Even then it would likely be difficult. Anyway, about all Ezreal knows about Dmitri is that he is difficult to predict and he pays close attention to how others act around him and, being the type of creature he is, expects to be shown the utmost respect. Like an alpha wolf walking past a subordinate--

Speaking of which, Dmitri strolls over to the younger creature, whom so averts his gaze to the ground then swiftly bows. He stands up straight again soon after, but keeps his eyes downcast. An amused hum escapes Dmitri, whom so tilts Ezreal’s head up to look him right in the eyes, “Hello there, little one. What, might I ask, are you doing here?” Dmitri’s tone is calm, and his smile never wavers.

Ezreal swallows nervously, “I was just bathing and washing my clothes,” Dmitri raises a brow but doesn’t say anything, so the boy continues, “I also needed to ask you something, and still do, but when I got here you weren’t around so I thought I’d have to look for you but I was a mess so--”

“Calm down, little one, your heart is going a mile a minute! Just relax. Sit down,” Dmitri taps his foot next to him to denote where the boy should sit, “take a deep breath, then we may talk.” Ezreal nods, sitting himself down on the grass where he was told to; Dmitri remains standing for the time being.

Though still rather uneasy about the other creature, Dmitri seems kind enough so far…Ezreal pulls his best smile, “Sorry. Uh, anyway, I was sort of a mess, and the fact I hadn’t bathed properly in about a week probably didn’t help.” The younger creature laughs a bit, mostly just to buy him time between replies, but strangely Dmitri laughs as well at the comment for whatever reason. Odd, but not aggressive, so Ezreal doesn’t question or become guarded. He does idly play with some grass as he speaks, however, and switches between staring at the grass and looking up to Dmitri, “What I wanted to ask you was how you felt about me roaming about here, hunting, using the main river, or maybe even staying here sometimes.” Dmitri raises a brow; Ezreal starts, waving his hands in front of him and dropping that bit of grass in the process, “I mean I’ll stay away if you want! I just want to know if you would mind or not.”

Dmitri doesn’t reply for awhile, which means besides the awkward silence and the river, there is no sound made. Ezreal considers making a run for it, but manages to keep himself seated for now. The larger creature would have a head start anyway seeing as he is already standing. “Well,” the younger male starts somewhat at the sudden sound, “this is certainly a first! I have never been asked before by another to stay here, not once!” He pauses a brief moment then appears to somewhat change his mood, almost sounding happier for a moment, “Except Vladimir of course, but that was a very strange exception.” He clears his throat, “I digress; to answer your question, I must know why you thought of such an idea in the first place.” Dmitri notes the color leaving Ezreal’s face and laughs, shaking his head, “Do not mistake me for angry, as I am far from it. I am merely curious.”

Warily, Ezreal replies, “Vladimir said that I have free reign over his turf, but I have to ask you about using yours.” Though whether this still stands, he is unsure… _but_ Dmitri doesn’t need to know that.

Shock quickly replaces that kind smile from before, “What? Vladimir? Offering to share his land?” Shock soon dissipates into clear anger, which scares Ezreal more than he can describe, “Is this a _joke_? What kind of _fool_ do you take me for?!” And just like that, Dmitri’s feet are on either side of Ezreal’s hips as he glares down at the younger male, not yet baring his full set of teeth but certainly showing one large fang off in a sneer. “You have mere seconds to explain yourself before I begin tearing out organs!”

Ezreal jumps, though not as much as he would have normally due to his movement being extremely limited; he is sitting cross-legged and now Dmitri is standing over him, so it goes without saying that he cannot move much without bumping into the other. “No, no! This isn’t a joke, I’m serious!” Ezreal shakes his head, then finally remembers his scar and tilts his head to the side in order to show off the mark made by Vladimir’s teeth. “See, look at this! He marked me just a few hours ago, that’s why I needed the river! I would never lie to you, Dmitri! _Please_ take the time to look and see I’m not joking here!”

Dmitri’s sneer lessens slightly as he looks over the wound-- and just like that the other lets himself plop down and sit in Ezreal’s lap, legs on either side of the boy. The younger male flinches but dares not attack until he is positive he will be attacked himself. If Ezreal attacks first, Dmitri will go all-out and that is _never_ good. For now, the larger of the two tilts Ezreal’s head to the side then feels the wound with his index and middle finger. After this, he leans down best he can given the position and takes a few good whiffs of the boy’s scent.

Apparently this convinces him as Dmitri grins again soon after, “I apologize for my conduct, you are in fact telling the truth. I had thought I caught the scent of his mark, but…frankly, I considered myself mistaken.” He tilts his head somewhat, looking Ezreal over, “I do wonder, how did you manage to persuade him? I have seen many attempt to court him and even a few dumb enough to try and ask to share territory…how did you manage it? He is not easy to win over by any means.”

The boy shifts a bit, “I didn’t; he was the one who asked if I wanted to be his mate or if I wanted to be his meal. I don’t know why he did though seeing as I have been nothing but trouble to you two since the day I found your territories.” Ezreal winces as Dmitri shifts his weight; man this guy is heavy…well, compared to him anyway.

A nod, “I see…interesting.” Another long pause, then Dmitri continues in a joyful tone, “Well, any friend of Vladimir’s must be a friend of mine, especially given the fact he has no others! You are a very lucky little boy.” Dmitri almost growls his last few words, yet is still smiling cheerily, leaning forward to sniff Ezreal’s hair a bit. He then backs off and changes his smile to a grin, showing off his sharp teeth, “This is also a good chance to learn more about younger vampires given the fact that I have never quite seen one up close unless I was eating it. They have a tendency to struggle and then I get hungry...anyway, lie down, little one, and stretch out your legs as well.”

Ezreal blinks, thoroughly confused as to why he is being told to lie down, but what does he know of examining other creatures? He does as told, lying back completely and straightening his legs. Dmitri scoots up a bit to sit on Ezreal’s stomach, which hurts a small amount and makes it slightly harder to breathe, but he can handle it. The other tilts his head somewhat, “Alright, little one, open your mouth and show me your teeth.” Again, the boy does as told. Dmitri leans forward, one hand helping him keep balance while the other moves Ezreal’s lips or tongue as needed to get a better look. He is surprisingly careful with those claws, which Ezreal doesn’t even have to say he is thankful for. The other male smiles, “Ah, you must not get much to eat, do you? Your fangs are almost the size of a human’s but sharp! How much do you normally eat in a month, and how big are your portions?”

Thankfully, Dmitri removes his fingers from the boy’s mouth so Ezreal can reply properly, “I usually eat about…maybe ten rabbits and or mice and rats a month, but sometimes I get lucky and score one or two deer or some other large animal. Usually just mice and rabbits though.” He pauses a moment, frowning a bit, “How does that explain why my fangs would be smaller than usual?” He is legitimately curious about this. Dmitri seems to know a lot about their species…it begs the question of what else he can tell just by looking at Ezreal.

“Simple, if you do not eat much, and thus do not puncture flesh or tear anything apart often, you do not grow very big fangs. I think it is because your body assumes you are scavenging or stealing kills, so the smaller the mark the better. It is a clever little adaptation, if I do say so myself!” Again Dmitri looks him over, then hums, “It also explains your rather petite build. You are made to run, not overpower something.” A rather unsettling smile spreads across the larger male’s face, “I have found that runner’s meat often tastes better than most. Maybe it is the blood flow to muscle? I am unsure, but they are very difficult to catch but well worth the energy spent chasing them down.”

The boy smiles nervously; he is about to reply, but Ezreal immediately snaps his mouth shut when Dmitri lowers his head to level it with Ezreal’s neck, taking a quick sniff then sitting up again. Strangely, it is Dmitri who shudders, “Ooh, little one, I must ask if you would allow me a taste of your blood! I would ask for meat, but that would be rather…painful for you and difficult to heal from.”

Ezreal pales, “You-- what? You want to…why? I mean I’m glad you’ve spared me so far and all but why? You have plenty of food in your basement hanging by their arms from the ceiling from what I hear and you should probably finish those first and then we can talk about…” the boy trails off his rambling with a sigh; he offered food, including-- no, _namely_ himself, to both males while pleading for his life. Why did he have to open his big mouth?

Sure, Dmitri doesn’t know of that little deal, but Ezreal sees it best to stick to his promise and hopefully earn Dmitri’s favor when the large beast hears of that deal directly from Vladimir. This is assuming Vlad keeps this deal. With a reluctant sigh and just as reluctant nod, Ezreal turns his head to expose his neck, “Fine, but only because I made a deal with Vladimir while begging for my life.”

Dmitri smiles, “Thank you, little one! I will not take much, I assure you.” And with that, the other creature again levels those vicious fangs with Ezreal’s neck, this time taking a bite. Ezreal flinches, but thankfully it doesn’t hurt _too_ much. After Vladimir’s fangs tearing him up the night before, this feels like a nip. Dmitri, however, clearly finds it highly enjoyable as he all but _moans_ once he starts drinking and again shudders. He stops soon after, just as promised, and licks the healing wound until there’s not a drop left. Dmitri licks his lips, smiling gleefully, “My! You taste _much_ better than I had anticipated, little one! I have tasted only a few better or equal to you, little one, and this is saying a lot for one whom has lived as long as I. Thank you so very much for allowing me a taste! Most are not so kind.”

A rather unsure nod; really, Ezreal isn’t certain if he should be happy or horrified Dmitri loves his flavor. The larger male did only take a small amount as promised, but…this beast _loves how he tastes_. How is he supposed to find a good side to that? The boy holds back a sigh, rubbing the other side of his neck; well, he has had both sides of his neck bitten today. Fantastic. “Don’t mention it.” He pauses a moment; he has a scar on both sides of his neck now as well. Ezreal frowns, “Can’t you heal wounds completely? Most vampires do to feed and not be noticed when the victim wakes up.”

The larger male’s smile turns to a sly grin, “We can.”

Another short pause as Ezreal expects Dmitri to explain further, but when nothing else is said he speaks again, “Then why not? I already have one bite mark on my neck I don’t need…two…” the boy blinks a few times, trailing off a moment. Dmitri isn’t going to…is he? No, of course not, that’s even more farfetched than Vladimir claiming the boy as his mate. Dmitri rarely shows any emotion except contentment and delight, much less any form of desire unless it is to learn about something or eat something. Even those are hard to spot past that smile. Ezreal shakes his head, “It’s just a bit strange, you know? Plus one scar is enough for me, I really don’t like the idea of two-- I mean, won’t another vampire get confused if I have _two_ bite marks on my neck but only one scent?”

Dmitri nods, “Indeed they would be! That is precisely why you will not have just one scent.”

“…Come again?” Did he hear that right? Is _Dmitri_ hinting at _mating_ with _him_? That’s…that’s not possible, it just isn’t. He must have heard wrong. Ezreal shakes his head; he really does need a good night’s sleep…it really shows in conversations. It likely doesn’t help he hasn’t spoken with much of anyone in about a year, not counting comments on those little campfire tales and rumors from other beasts.

Ezreal feels his belt fiddled with a bit, to which he yelps and sits up as best he can as Dmitri is now sitting up as well and thus gives him room to do so, “What are you doing?! I’ve already been taken as a mate, I don’t think Vladimir would be too thrilled with someone pulling moves on me!” He knows he certainly isn’t thrilled by it. He is more confused than anything. Is his internal calendar off? Is this just a very, very cold spring? These two _never_ in all the months he has watched them _ever_ acted like this. Ever. Period. End of discussion. Why now and why him of all creatures do they choose to suddenly be interested in?

It takes a few moments, but Dmitri replies after having undone Ezreal’s belt only to examine it or fiddle with the zipper to his pants, “Oh, do not pay him any thought! Vladimir will not mind in the least what I do with you so long as you are not harmed in the process! He and I…we are very _close_ , little one, and we have a tendency to share in case you did not notice. We have shared territory, kills, housing, and even a bed on many occasions!” He lowers his tone and bends toward Ezreal, “I must say, Vladimir is a pleasure to have in bed, little one. You probably got his more vicious side, but when he works to please you, he does a _very_ good job of it.” Dmitri pauses after this, taking off the boy’s belt, tossing it aside as he sits up again, “Anyway, I have a bit more to look at before we begin. It is just one more thing, so do not worry about it!”

Worrying about Dmitri’s little study is the _last_ thing Ezreal is doing. He squirms the slightest amount, which doesn’t bother Dmitri as he removes the boy’s lower clothing and gets up slightly to take said clothing off completely then seat himself on the boy’s legs. Again, Ezreal’s shirt and coat are kept on for whatever reason. That seems to be a theme here…but again, the younger male doesn’t care about that as much seeing as this bloodthirsty creature has just taken off most his clothing.

Once the clothes are tossed aside to join Ezreal’s belt, Dmitri again starts looking him over. The boy finds it almost ironic that his face is heating up _now_ rather than when Vladimir first started working on him…it did later of course, but that’s not exactly the point. He just clenches his teeth and keeps his eyes to the sky; he would really rather not watch that beast study him like some-- an extremely unexpected moan escapes Ezreal soon after looking away.

Dmitri smiles, “Average length, and very much sensitive to stimulation.” Ezreal feels the creature’s thumb gently stroke him again, earning another sound from him; and thus, any good the river water did him is gone in but a few seconds. The larger male chuckles, “It really does not take much to arouse a young creature such as yourself, especially after your first breeding season.” Dmitri stops handling the boy’s member after this, which relieves Ezreal more than anything.

He is, however, quivering again and mostly due to wanting to-- oh, no, no. He will _not_ mate with this guy as well. Ezreal shakes his head, “A-Alright, that’s enough, let’s call it a day and go get some food I’m starving.”

The other shakes his head, “No, no, my dear little one, not yet. I will treat you to a drink of my own blood plus one of my own catches after this. How does that sound, hm? I assure you I am a lot more amiable than Vladimir in the morning! He is so grumpy when he wakes up! He doesn’t quite calm down until he has taken a bath and or had some food. He will probably join us later in the day, just so you know.” Dmitri again scoots forward, looming over the younger male, “Now, allow me to take your shirt and coat off.”

That sort of explains Vladimir’s morning behavior, but certainly not Dmitri’s. Ezreal frowns, biting back a snide remark and instead replying with a more…polite wording, “Or what? You’ll eat me? Look, nothing against you, but I’ve been through enough today and I really don’t want to have another large beast go at me while I end up a trembling mess! I appreciate the food offer, but one mate is difficult enough…I dread to think of two.” The boy again looks to the sky rather than Dmitri, “For the record though, you seem a lot nicer than Vlad…I sort of wish it was you that decided to claim me first.”

Dmitri sighs, not annoyed or angry just a content-sounding exhale, “Oh, dear little one, you are sadly mistaken! For one, I am not giving you an option, and two, I do not require anything in return but your company. Vladimir is the same. He might seem angry right now but you just caught him waking up after little sleep! He is a kind man and he will treat you well, I assure you.” He again looks Ezreal over, nodding a bit as if realizing something, “You are not bound to stay by us and you may come and go as you so desire, the only time we will insist on having you near one of us is during when we head to bed which is for your safety.” Dmitri bares his fangs in a friendly grin, tapping Ezreal’s chest to get his attention, “You love him in return, even if you are disinclined to admit this. Life will be much easier for you with both of us, I assure you.”

Another reluctant nod, “True, but--”

“You are simply playing hard to get, little one!” Dmitri laughs, shaking his head, “You enjoyed your time with Vladimir, but you are wary of his reaction should he find you claimed by another! It is instinct, little one, and a bit of common sense, but it is not at all how Vladimir works! Well, at least not with me. If it were anyone else, this fear would be justified, but not at all for your sake.” Dmitri hums, then shakes his head, “Anyway, you _want_ me to take you, but you are cautious. I assure you no harm will befall you for this, and Vladimir will think no less of you for it. You will, however, gain a stronger guardian and another several acres of land.” Dmitri lowers himself once again, whispering in Ezreal’s ear, “Plus, I want the whole set. I have Vladimir, and now I need you.”

Ezreal blinks a few times, “You…and Vlad?” Sure those two got along well, but…he never saw them together very often. Aren’t vampire pairs commonly found by each other’s sides? Then again, Dmitri mentioned the bed thing and the pleasing thing before…how did it _not_ click until now. Yet, how is it possible? He shakes his head in disbelief, “But most pairs stay close to each other or at least _talk_ ; you two rarely even patrol the same area.”

Dmitri nods, “Yes, that is true, but it is mostly one trying to protect the other or both sticking together as a safety measure. Vladimir and myself are both strong enough to wander about on our own; it is an uncommon pair seeing as two alpha types do not usually mix, but we make it work nicely. We do talk, we do spend time with each other, and we do partake in usual behavior done by mates…you just have not seen us do so!” The creature smoothes Ezreal’s hair, his grin turning to a warm smile once again; this guy is never _not_ smiling. “Now, little one, let me take your clothes off.” The boy seems to be leaning toward a ‘no,’ to which Dmitri pouts, “Come now, I want to get a good look at you! I will take them off by force if I must anyway, so it is best you play along.”

The boy sighs, which is as close to an agreement as Dmitri will get for now. Ezreal likes this guy, he really does, but _two_ larger male vampires that _both_ love his taste and seem to like him in general? It seems a bit much…mostly he just doesn’t want those two turning against him. His main concern is betrayal…that he is being used then he will be devoured. He would have no problems with any of this if he weren’t so unsure about these two…he has had a sort of animalistic _crush_ on both of them since having seen them, but he has told himself time and time again to ignore it. By now he has tried to hate them but…well, obviously that hasn’t worked out.

He feels clawed hands, _cold ones at that_ , lift his damp shirt and coat off with no problems at all. Ezreal watches Dmitri warily; most creatures go for the belly when they want to start eating something. Dmitri, when he does eat something in one sitting, always goes for the organs first…of course he makes no move to ensure his victim is dead when he starts--

“These must be Vladimir’s scratches, but…these other ones are battle scars I would assume?” Dmitri traces a few of many little scars the boy has; all monsters have marks from past wounds, it’s just how it is around here. Most of Ezreal’s are on his back, stomach, and sides from creatures trying to maul him, get a hold of him, or start eating him. Ezreal nods, knowing by ‘battle scars’ Dmitri means ‘got caught trying to run away and got a deep gash’ scars. “Fascinating…well, I assure you that I will try not to be too rough with you, little one. I would much rather keep myself out of your little history here, minus the mark on your neck. It gives better information that way.”

Ezreal is confused, but nods; Dmitri really is nice…strange, he thought it was all an act. He starts a bit, noticing that the larger male has sat up on his knees now, leaving Ezreal without a massive weight on his waist or legs for the time being but an uneasy feeling in his stomach. The boy sends a questioning glance at Dmitri, whom so just finishes unbuttoning his coat when the creature notices.

The other nods downward, “Undo my belt and remove my pants, little one.”

…What? Ezreal furrows his brow, “Why?” Dmitri makes no move to explain, instead he just raises a brow as if to say ‘why not?’…that or he is questioning why Ezreal isn’t following his order. The boy sighs, though it only covers up how nervous he feels having to do this. He feels as if one false move or if he accidentally scratches Dmitri or something he will end up dead quicker than he could say ‘oops.’ That and he just doesn’t like the feeling of doing this in the first place…he isn’t _that_ riled up from Dmitri’s little ‘experiment’ before.

Regardless of this heavily uneasy feeling, Ezreal complies and begins working at undoing Dmitri’s belt. It doesn’t take too long given that he is quite used to unlatching a belt, but the pants thing…does he really have to do this? Again, he looks to the larger creature in front of him, whom so just watches. Great. Ezreal somewhat nervously pulls Dmitri’s pants down, caring to leave the creature’s boxers on simply to delay the inevitable. The other moves his legs when he must to allow Ezreal to completely remove the first clothing item and toss it aside, the second remains however.

Ezreal nods, “Okay, I removed your pants, I think I’m done here.”

Dmitri, unexpectedly, laughs at this and shakes his head, “You know what I mean, little one. Boxers too, unless I have been doing this very wrong for years.” Ezreal holds in a whine; he really doesn’t feel like doing this. He eventually does manage to remove Dmitri’s last clothing item covering his lower half, doing so in the same manner he did the other’s pants all the while attempting to ignore the heat on his face…well, and in other places. He was already worked up before, but this is a bit much.

Another toothy grin, “Good, now why don’t you unbutton my shirt as well, hm? I will make this fair and let you see me mostly bare. I will, however, for instincts sake of keeping you hidden, keep my coat on. My shirt will not be coming off this time either, but when we do this again sometime indoors…then we can get creative. Outside, however, I am driven to keep this simple and you out of sight.”

The boy honestly dreads what Dmitri means by ‘get creative,’ but doesn’t question it. Ezreal simply nods and unbuttons the other’s shirt as told, which does reveal quite a few scars on him. It is to be more than expected of a territory holder, so the boy isn’t surprised in the least. Now knowing what he does of Dmitri and Vladimir, however, does also tell him that a good few of these are probably from…Ezreal just shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the thought. “I never did understand that. It would be obvious to anything within several feet what we’re doing.”

A chuckle and nod, “Yes, but it is how we work. Now lie down, little one, and spread your legs a bit for me. I assure you this will not be long.” Dmitri’s orders are consistently told in his usual tone, just as if he were talking about the weather or how green the grass is in summer. Ezreal hesitates following through with this one, however.

Vampires are usually monogamous in nature and it is really showing…he does like Dmitri, a lot, but he is very much wary of showing such affection to the other. For one, his instincts are screaming run because this beast can devour him in a moment’s notice; two, he is still unsure if this creature will keep his word and protect him or devour him shortly after this is over or whenever Dmitri and or Vladimir get bored of having him around; and three, most of him is trying to ensure he stays loyal to Vladimir…even if Vladimir possibly hates him. To be completely honest, Ezreal has always had a slight interest in both landlords, this of course includes Dmitri, but that was from afar. Up close, these creatures are frightening…and yet both share interest in him. He _still_ doesn’t quite understand why. There must be others whom so have escaped them before…right? He frowns and looks down-- and then looks right over to the side as his face heats up a good few degrees.

Dmitri chuckles, “You are interesting, little one. No need to be so modest, it is nothing you haven’t already seen! Now lie down, after this we may go eat…on second thought.” The other male leans forward, in doing so pushing Ezreal back against the grass. Said grass is a bit damp by now thanks to on and off drizzle, but thankfully not too uncomfortable. The younger creature is, however, a bit unnerved by the action, to which Dmitri just puts on what Ezreal assumes to be his most comforting smile, “It’s alright, little one, just calm yourself. You are so fretful! Come now, I will let you bite my neck and have a quick snack. First, however, I want you to put each leg on either side of my hip.”

Ezreal is quite shocked by the offer, but it nonetheless sounds nice to him...very nice, actually, given the fact he has never tasted a vampire’s blood, or human’s blood, or anything but furry woodland creatures. Most of all, he hasn’t eaten in days and it shows in that he immediately bites Dmitri without even hesitating; he does do as told while drinking, however, and sets each leg next to Dmitri’s waist.

The _taste_ though-- he can’t even describe it. He nearly moans from that alone; for most animals, taste is a huge deal and this…this is certainly no exception. Vampires are meant to hunt humans, and other vampires taste very much alike to them, so naturally their flavor is _amazing_ compared to everything else Ezreal has eaten. It doesn’t take long for him to put his arms around the other’s neck in order to keep him near it and better his angle.

Dmitri again laughs, no doubt grinning as well, “Good little boy…I figured you were not lying when you said you were starved. You will have to stop soon, as I need that blood, you know.” True, though it doesn’t seem to affect the heat on Dmitri’s lower half at all. Ezreal does ease off, though he has never had to heal a wound before…looks like this will be an ‘I hope this works’ moment.

Thankfully for him, it does, but he does keep licking Dmitri’s neck to clean up the area. Again, the other doesn’t mind and yet again laughs a bit-- that is before deciding to jump right into things and push himself into the younger male. This explains why Dmitri didn’t mind waiting, he was preparing himself a bit…chances are he was rubbing up against Ezreal and the boy didn’t even notice as he was too busy drinking the best thing he has ever tasted. Just goes to show he should pay more attention to these guys.

Ezreal yelps, as he did with Vladimir, and winces each thrust as he had before. And, just as with Vladimir, his focus goes from being worried to immediately wanting to prove his affections to the other male. This time around he can properly kiss, nip, and lick the other most the time. Dmitri busies himself with doing the same, almost solely to Ezreal’s neck; and, as he said, the larger male does manage to keep his claws out of Ezreal’s skin, however the alternative of being held against the other quite tightly, very much like a hug in a sense, in order to keep steady is painful to say the least. The younger of the two is somewhat bothered by this, but keeps most of his attention on Dmitri.

Speaking of which, unlike Vladimir, Dmitri doesn’t make too much noise at all while mating. He grunts and moans a few times, but not nearly as loud or often as Vladimir. Ezreal, as to be expected, is just as active as he was the last time if not the slightest bit more so. Dmitri moves in a different way than Vladimir…as if he is trying to do more than just leave his mark. Vladimir was quick with his movements and frantic with his displays of affection…Dmitri’s tempo is slower in comparison, though still not exactly sluggish by any means, and the way he acts is much more controlled. Not only this, but when the larger creature does kiss Ezreal on the mouth rather than neck or shoulders or something, he is more than happy to become less aggressive after a few moments. That is, Dmitri will allow him to taste the other’s mouth as well, not just a sort of one-sided deal he got with Vladimir. Again, Ezreal is not complaining about Vlad’s methods by any means, it’s just…interesting to see a comparison.

But, that said, Ezreal isn’t too focused on the comparison. He is much more focused on Dmitri deciding to pull back and shift around in order to start marking his stomach, chest, and whatever else he decides needs it. Dmitri, surprisingly enough, grins and then speaks up, “I apologize for the mess, but it is necessary.” Dmitri’s tone is low, almost breathy. But Ezreal, naturally, doesn’t catch much of what he says or notice the oddity of chatting during something like this; instead, the younger male tries pulling Dmitri back down for a kiss, to taste the other creature’s mouth again. Oh how he loves that taste…

Dmitri chuckles, flipping Ezreal around then starting again, “Almost done, don’t you worry, little one.” Ezreal again winces and claws at the ground, uttering a low whine without exactly intending to. For the most part out of all this, he just wants to have a shot at the other. He highly doubts that Dmitri will tolerate what Vladimir didn’t, but he will be more than willing to try-- another sudden moan escapes Ezreal, causing the younger male to again dig his claws into the dirt below him. It seems Dmitri has decided to give him a hand, quite literally, with his problem and _boy does it feel good_. Ezreal has no problems with moaning, or even purring at times to show his satisfaction as well.

No doubt Dmitri is grinning as he speaks, it is far too obvious in his tone, “Ah, you like this, do you not?” It’s pretty obvious Ezreal does like what he’s doing, given the younger male ends up moving along with the other’s touch best he can; that is to say, he is moving as if mating with another…well, as best he can given his position. Dmitri seems to know how to use his hand pretty well, which probably shouldn’t be surprising given his age and the possibility he has likely lived with Vladimir for years. But again, details don’t matter much to Ezreal at this point.

Unfortunately for him, Dmitri withdraws soon after and stops toying with Ezreal at the same time, earning a whine from the younger male as his larger mate starts marking his back. The other nips the back of Ezreal’s neck, smiling into it as he does so, “Come now, little one, we are just finishing up…calm yourself.” Dmitri _purrs_ , a sound Ezreal has not once heard the other make, as he flips the younger male back around to face him. When the boy is flipped back around, he immediately tries his luck.

Though Ezreal heavily doubts that Dmitri will tolerate this, one never knows given how lenient his larger mate has been so far. So, against what would likely be considered his better judgment, Ezreal again pulls his mate down for another kiss after Dmitri had attempted to back off; this act is met with a smirk, a light chuckle, and an eager return kiss. When Ezreal wraps his legs around the other and again starts in on what he tried with Vladimir, he only gets a raised eyebrow and a wide grin in response.

Surprisingly, Dmitri doesn’t mind at all and seems to find it feels surprisingly nice to have his younger mate rubbing up against him. It’s about now when Ezreal notes the other is actually starting to vocalize a bit more and occasionally arches his back or pushes Ezreal to the ground in an attempt to bring the younger creature closer. Dmitri does seldom push against Ezreal in return while pinning him to the ground, but for the most part he allows the younger male to do most the work and simply kisses, nibbles, or licks. The younger of the two, however, has much less restraint in that he often draws blood while ‘nipping’ or scrapes Dmitri’s back or neck while trying to hang on to the larger male.

Seeing as Dmitri long since stopped clinging to Ezreal and instead was on all fours and looming over the young male before said young male decided to grip to him instead, Ezreal has quite a time keeping hold of his mate. Thankfully, Dmitri doesn’t seem to mind the scratches and in fact almost sounds as if he is moaning when the boy’s claws slip and leave a few crimson trails in their path. As for the biting to keep hold, or sneak a little drink here and there, this gets a similar reaction.

Oddly, though Ezreal is the one pushing up against Dmitri, it is the larger of the two whom sounds the loudest. Ezreal keeps his voice down best he can, likely out of habit, though does make quite a few noises while Dmitri doesn’t care if he moans loudly as he is pleasured. It likely has to do with where Ezreal ends up rubbing and pushing against…well, it works for the both of them, then. Though not as effective as if he were able to mount Dmitri properly, he doesn’t even try so he is unsure how the other would take it, the younger male manages to ease himself enough to stop brushing up against his larger mate and instead focus on kissing and licking him.

When Ezreal calms down, Dmitri seems to find it a good enough time to just let himself lie down on the younger creature, lightly panting all the while…though, of course, not as much as Ezreal. Dmitri sighs contently, resting his head on his hand and watching his new little mate with quite the curious gaze, “You are interesting, little one…I quite like you. Yes…I am very glad neither of us devoured you, little one.” His slight smile quirks upward somewhat when Ezreal leans up to kiss him lightly then lie back down.

At this point, Ezreal is starting to get his bearings together-- and oh boy does he have a lot to think over. So, basically, he has mated with two of the strongest creatures within several miles and very possibly within this whole area altogether, enjoyed doing so, and now happens to have their favor after they have tried to eat him for about a year. That aside, his time spent with Dmitri…he shudders then shakes his head; he is trying to calm down, not rile himself up again. Dmitri is certainly much more lenient when it comes to how Ezreal acts…Vladimir got rather agitated before, but maybe that was just morning grumpiness. Probably not.

He keeps his gaze away from his larger mate for the moment, trying his best to calm down before trying to converse or anything. Strangely, Dmitri was able to speak and control himself just fine during the whole thing…then again, Dmitri has also lived through countless mating seasons and no doubt learned how to quell his natural urges and responses. Ezreal…not so much. His face again heats up, this time with embarrassment, upon remembering how rashly he acted. He doesn’t exactly regret it per say, but he feels rather humiliated by it for some reason.

Dmitri’s suave smile never fades, even by the time Ezreal looks back up he is still being examined by the other’s crimson eyes. Ezreal grins back nervously, though he cares not to show his teeth too much as it is often taken as aggressive or challenging, “So, when do we eat?”

“Maybe after we are cleaned up would be a good time.” Dmitri laughs, not mocking or anything but just a soft one. Ezreal again sort of spaced that, even if he can still smell the _stench_ of his new mate’s mark. It’s ridiculously disgusting given he is of the same gender, yet a part, just a small part, of it is highly alluring. Dmitri gets off the younger male, allowing him to sit up, though he still stays close to Dmitri given the fact that creature’s coat is the only thing blocking the cold. Chances are things are gonna get a lot colder during cleanup…oh boy.

Ezreal nods, laughing nervously, “Probably a good idea.” He reluctantly moves out from under Dmitri and somewhat toward the river, though it doesn’t take long until his new mate decides that he wants to help out and quite forcefully urges Ezreal to the rocks he bathed near before. The water is a bit less swift near the rocks, not that it really is anyway, and it’s a favorite bathing spot for Dmitri from what Ezreal has seen. He avoided staying too close to the rocks for this reason, as Dmitri usually hides nearby and jumps on anything that enters the river at that specific location.

The boy shudders, not enjoying the feel of frigid water on him in the least. Dmitri, having shed his coat and shirt for now in order to keep them from getting wet, urges Ezreal to sit down on one of the more submerged rocks. This earns a somewhat confused look from him, to which Dmitri just flashes his fangs in a full grin, “Sit down. Trust me, it is much easier to scrub yourself down than let the slow current take care of things.” The boy does as told, the water now up to his chest while sitting on this specific rock; Dmitri, meanwhile, again looks him over, to which Ezreal shifts uncomfortably. If Dmitri is like other vampires are with their mate…this bath is going to get real interesting real fast.

He knows Dmitri will likely turn to using his tongue soon enough, but the kicker is that Ezreal will be expected to do the same to his larger mate. This is _really_ not something he wants to do, to be honest…that is not to say he doesn’t love his newest mate, because he does, it’s just that he is still somewhat wary and mostly unused to having to socialize with a monster that could eat him in a moment’s notice. He trusts Dmitri a lot, but Ezreal is unsure if he trusts himself not to push any buttons the other might have and thus trigger an attack…and, as far as he is concerned, he will always have the slightest of predator and prey relationships with the other.

Or these could all be mental excuses to cover the fact he has never acted so friendly to another creature before and is nervous that he might screw up somehow, or he simply dislikes the idea of being so kind to what in nature would normally be a huge rival for food and territory. Ezreal shakes those thoughts from his head as best he can; Vladimir and Dmitri might as well be considered his family now, and he needs to start thinking of and…and treating them as such. Even if it means exposing his belly and throat to the vicious fangs of Dmitri or grooming a very _friendly_ or ferocious Vladimir without being asked to do so.

Ezreal’s thoughts are brought to an abrupt end thanks to some frigid water being dumped on his head, quickly earning a gasp due to the cold plus the fact he didn’t expect it…though he should have, he _is_ being bathed after all. Dmitri again laughs, taking a piece of cloth from between a few rocks as well as some sort of container. Ezreal blinks in confusion; is that soap? He doesn’t remember all too much from his life as a human, but that looks familiar-- though its smell when the container is opened is much more potent than he remembers.

Dmitri puts some of that soap stuff on the cloth, then stuffs the soap container back into some rocks, “It is such a pain, always having to hide these things lest some sneaky little thief comes by and decides he or she wants a washcloth and soap.” He nods upward, signaling Ezreal to move onto a less submerged rock. The boy reluctantly follows his mate’s command, growing ever more wary of Dmitri. The other male, however, just keeps talking, “You would be surprised how highly valued everyday luxury items for humans are around here. Some beasts will kill each other over a simple container of some sort!” He runs is claws through Ezreal’s hair a few times, mixing in some of that soap stuff as well, and hums once, “The deeper in you go, the more those lesser items become more valuable. Myself and Vladimir have no problems with raiding nearby towns, but it seems most monsters prefer stealing them if at all interested in such items. It certainly does not help that the nearest town is hours away.”

From the sounds of this current topic of soap and human items, Dmitri is just trying to keep a conversation going. He knew from watching Vladimir and this landlord talking that Dmitri is quite fond of conversation, but he never knew the larger male was _this_ keen on chatting up with others. Ezreal nods along, flinching every now and again as Dmitri scrubs him with that cloth; the other male is being gentle, yes, but there are some areas he would prefer remain untouched. Namely is stomach and anything below that, not counting his legs. Ezreal shudders and tries to ignore it, “How many monsters are actually interested in that stuff? I mean, I doubt a werewolf cares if his fur smells disgusting.”

The other laughs, shaking his head, “You would be surprised! There are many creatures that enjoy common, to humans that is, luxuries such as a book or hygiene items. I myself prefer to have those freezer things, even if it doesn’t quite work out here. All I have to do is gather ice or snow and keep it in my basement and whatever is inside it stays quite chilly.” He pauses, verbally that is seeing as Dmitri continues washing Ezreal’s stomach and sides, and tilts his head. He remains quiet for a bit then speaks up, “Speaking of my basement, remind me if I happen to forget that I wish to take you down there for breakfast today! I have much more variety than usual, all stocked from summertime, and am most certain you will enjoy something down there. I even have humans this time!”

Ezreal swallows, shifting; he’s more unnerved about having Dmitri’s claws so close to his belly rather than a reply at this point. The larger male is still being careful, but…the most common mode of attack is gutting the enemy. It causes so much sheer agony that the enemy just…doesn’t fight back. They collapse and beg for death. On top of this, most creatures like eating the insides first. When Dmitri pauses his actions and looks Ezreal in the eye, the boy starts, “I-I, uhm, will pass on that.” He might be a monster now, but…he was human just a year ago and had been for most of his life, it seems _disgusting_ , not to mention twisted, of him to even consider eating a human.

A weary yet not at all angry sigh escapes Dmitri, “Oh my, you are one of those little ones that refuses to eat humans, aren’t you?” Ezreal nods ever so slightly, almost ashamed to admit it for whatever reason. That or fearful that Dmitri will look down on it and turn against him, considering him a waste of time. Instead, the other male laughs quietly, “Your kind is common, but not impossible to turn in the right direction. Take it from me, little one, you will enjoy the taste of human flesh on your tongue and blood rushing down your throat! We are intended to hunt those animals in particular, so naturally they taste marvelous _and_ are the only creatures that completely satisfy us.”

The boy shakes his head, warily trying to disagree yet not offend Dmitri, “Rodents, moose, and deer fill me up just fine--”

“And yet, you always find yourself hunting for more. You are always thirsty and always hungry, no matter how much you fill your belly.” Dmitri replies with a knowing grin, still cleaning the boy’s midsection. “Why do you think Vladimir is always so hungry? He hunts and hunts and hunts but knows it will not satisfy him. He enjoys eating, the taste of his prey, and the thrill of the hunt of course, but he also does it because he always feels hungry! Even the slightest pangs of hunger annoy him and he always tries to fix it, only to do nothing but cause himself pain by eating more than his stomach can handle. Yet, he still feels hungry. He has come to me many times over with a terrible stomach ache.” Dmitri sighs, sounding saddened for a moment, and continues washing the boy’s stomach and sides, “But such is one of the many curses of vampirism. You will always thirst and hunger until you drain and devour your intended prey.”

Ezreal frowns, feeling the slightest pang of pity for Vladimir, though he tries to shake that off given what he has seen that monster do, “Why doesn’t he just come to you for food? I mean, you have a ton of it and I know you have humans in there.” The boy flinches again, shifting when Dmitri runs that cloth over his lower half; thankfully the cold makes this easier to bear.

The landlord notices right away and flashes an apologetic smile, rubbing a few more times then continuing to the legs, “He dislikes asking for help. When he comes to me for food, it means he is desperate. Believe it or not, we sometimes go months without any form of animal in here because of over hunting, but Vladimir dislikes letting intruders roam about. He refuses to eat furry woodland creatures unless they are what humans would classify as ‘monsters,’ so he comes to me for food.” Dmitri pauses to twirl his finger around once; he wants Ezreal to turn around. The boy does as told-- well, gestured, however it is only because he is too scared not to. He feels if he doesn’t listen, he will be killed…he sighs and turns around. Dmitri no doubt smiles as he begins washing Ezreal’s back, “So, he comes running to me asking for handouts…and by ‘running to me and asking for handouts’ I mean he tackles me to the ground and starts drinking then asks to raid my stash. Sometimes he asks nicely, but usually he waits until he is just so hungry he cannot bear to wait any longer.”

He blinks; what? Ezreal frowns, “Why don’t you stop him? I mean, I might be new here but I know that’s not exactly respectful to someone of your status.” And now it sounds like he’s being a suck up. He doesn’t mean to sound like that, but it truly is puzzling…Dmitri is one to kill if someone looks at him wrong-- well, not kill right away, but take to that hell house of his.

Once again Ezreal hears a smile in Dmitri’s voice, “I do after a little while or he would most certainly drain me dry! It is quite impolite, but with Vladimir that is just how it is. He is a kind, respectful man, just not when he hasn’t eaten in three or more months…most anyone is a monster by that time! Plus, I have no qualms in sharing with him. He is my dearest friend and mate, after all!” Ezreal feels himself turned around by the other male, now facing Dmitri as the other before said other dunks down for a few moments then resurfaces and climbs up the same rock Ezreal is on. The washcloth is also handed over, which he takes with clear reluctance.

Seeing as Dmitri is up here, Ezreal deems it safe to assume he should hop back down and start planning out how he’s going to-- though it seems his larger companion wants him to stay a bit longer, as Dmitri decides to pull him close and lick the boy’s cheek, neck, and even his shoulder. Ezreal immediately puts up a slight struggle before realizing that it _probably_ isn’t a good idea. He suppresses an attempted escape, but he doesn’t do so well in terms of shaking. Just keep still and let Dmitri finish…once this is over he will be free to leave. Just stay calm--

Dmitri utters a low growl, which easily earns a small jump from Ezreal and a wide-eyed, panicked stare. The landlord smiles, running his tongue over Ezreal’s neck once more then releasing the boy; said boy scrambles off the rock hesitantly, yet eagerly. “You are very skittish, little one…I apologize for scaring you, however you must know by now that grooming one another with your tongue is considered one of the highest forms of showing affection. It shows trust and is simply an intimate act done only by family, close friends, or mates.” Dmitri reclines casually, exposing himself completely and without even a shred of shame. “In fact, I would have continued had you not started to stress so much. I do not wish for you to have a heart attack or something…not that it would kill you.” The landlord grins, showing off his teeth as well.

Ezreal, naturally, shrinks back slightly and fiddles with the cloth in his hand; why him? He shifts then digs out the soap bottle and prepares the washcloth. He glances to his companion every now and again, whom so just watches with a strange amount of interest-- “Aw, come now, little one, you are not upset with me, are you?” Dmitri sounds somewhat hurt as he says this, which manages to scare Ezreal more than he was before.

The boy starts, then quickly shakes his head, “No, no! I’m just-- I was just thinking that’s all! Sorry if I, erm, worried you?” his last statement comes out in more of a question than anything for some reason. Maybe because he finds it strange someone like Dmitri would care about someone like him…either way, he immediately rubs the washcloth against itself a few times then sloppily climbs onto the more submerged rock. Dmitri is quite a bit taller than he is, so to reach the creature’s head comfortably, even while the creature is partially leaned over, requires a bit of a boost.

A relieved sigh, then Dmitri’s usual smile is back, “Ah, good, good! No need to apologize, I was simply making sure. I want you to be as happy as you can be, little one, given the fact you are already making my own life quite a bit more interesting!” Dmitri continues watching Ezreal carefully; studying him. The younger male is naturally a bit unnerved by this but doesn’t ask or anything, he simply tries to get himself to start washing his new mate. “Now, speaking of which, I am very curious about you. Tell me everything you can think of: how you were turned, how you have survived, how you have managed to escape both myself as well as Vladimir. Your human life as well, if you remember!”

Ezreal shifts, starting somewhat when Dmitri lowers his head for better access. The boy takes this as a signal to start, forcing himself to finally run his fingers through Dmitri’s hair and get a good amount of that soap stuff in it. He assumes it doubles as shampoo, but who knows maybe it _is_ shampoo. Dmitri closes his eyes at this assumingly pleasant contact, a low rumble playing in his throat. Ezreal finds himself smiling the slightest bit, “I, uh, don’t remember much of anything having to do when I was a human other than I used to explore all the time and I lived extremely far from here. I’m still not sure how I was turned, who did it, and why they took me out here, but…I guess it’s a good thing I ended up near your territories.”

Dmitri nods slightly, his eyes still closed, “Do you like it? Being a vampire, I mean.”

It takes a ‘short’ pause for this one. Ezreal frowns a bit; he does like it a little…but he feels that he is missing friends and a whole lot more back home. He doesn’t know who or what, but it…it’s painful at times. It doesn’t help that he never believed stories of vampires until he became one…he thought they were extinct at most. Apparently not. Dmitri opens an eye as if checking to see if Ezreal was paying attention, to which the boy starts, “I-- I guess I do sometimes. I don’t like spring or having to condemn others to such a painful death in order to avoid being killed myself…I _really_ don’t like fearing for my life every second of every day, but sometimes I’m happy I was turned. I like being able to roam around, at least within your turfs.” He stops scratching Dmitri’s head to get that soap into it then cups some water and pours it on the other, whom so shudders but obviously enjoys the feeling. Ezreal repeats this action several times as he continues, “I feel like I miss people back home, but I don’t know who…and yet, I really like you and Vlad-- even if Vlad might not like me back, I’m really not sure anymore.”

“Hm?” Dmitri opens his eyes, raising a brow, “What do you mean you are unsure he likes you? He claimed you, which should be more than proof enough. Plus he sent you here, didn’t he?”

Ezreal finishes pouring water on his companion and switches to cautiously scrubbing the other’s arm and shoulder, “He, erm, he sort of woke up the next day and basically told me to get lost or die. He said to ‘go bother Dmitri’ and to ‘get out of my territory’ before storming off.” The boy sighs, “I didn’t do anything that should have made him so mad…”

The other smiles, “As I said before, he occasionally gets grumpy in the morning. Do not hold it against him, he is simply not what humans would call a ‘morning person.’ After he eats or takes a bath he is fine, but sometimes he just gets a little grumpy. Why, he has even taken a bite out of me a few times! It just depends, little one, do not take it personally. He means none of what he says and will no doubt come visit later in the day when he realizes where you have gone.” Dmitri leans back and sighs happily, “If he does not come to us later today, you will see him before bed without a doubt. Given the colder temperatures, he enjoys sleeping with another to keep warm…not that he will admit this, of course.”

He can’t help but laugh, though mostly Ezreal is relieved to be off the topic of his life. He…he just doesn’t want to talk about himself. He wants to learn more about Dmitri and Vladimir. So, he takes this chance to ask questions; he is truly curious as to whether or not Vladimir has a soft side to him, “So does that mean he’s the cuddly type or what?” He begins washing Dmitri’s leg, given it’s the last thing before that beast’s stomach and lower region, though again does so with clear caution.

Dmitri nods, chuckling, “He is, though he again would hate to have that known! He loves nothing more than to snuggle up against me if we are sitting on a couch or lying down in bed or even sometimes just lounging about. He rarely does so outside given the fact anyone could see us, but indoors he is very friendly! Do not let his vicious nature fool you, he is a real softy once he warms up to you.”

Huh…so Vladimir does have a nice part to him, just heavily buried under death threats and vicious attempts at exerting his own dominance. Ezreal nods, biting back a sigh of relief at the knowledge his other mate has at least some decency to him and isn’t just a good-looking, smooth talking, well dressed powerhouse of a monster…a vicious, cruel monster that eats his prey, alive and struggling, in the slowest and most painful ways one could ever imagine. Likely in ways Ezreal cannot even think of. He shakes his head; no more of that, just focus on the good right now. The boy smiles faintly, continuing rubbing that cloth against Dmitri’s legs until realizing he should probably move on. Sadly, there’s not much aside from the creature’s midsection and lower regions…both could possibly trigger an attack if touched wrong.

The landlord, meanwhile, is unaware of Ezreal’s dilemma and starts talking again, “Anyway, back to you,” oh great, “pardon my selfish inquisitiveness, but I am truly curious as to what exactly you think of myself and Vladimir. You may get back to how you managed to survive once you found yourself here after answering this.”

Ezreal blinks; well, that’s one way to bark orders. Not actually barking and saying them in such a polite way he almost didn’t notice Dmitri is being so pushy. He shifts, looking around then at the crimson eyes of his newest mate. Well…Ezreal sighs; might as well wash this guy’s belly while he’s already very likely to shoot himself in the foot with a possible bad answer. He carefully sets the cloth on Dmitri’s stomach and checks for any reaction, which there isn’t any, so he begins gently moving the washrag around.

He doesn’t quite expect a low purring, almost _groaning_ before easing to that purring, sound and for Dmitri to again close his eyes and relax. Ezreal does, however, expect the other to speak up again and is not disappointed, “Mmm, I will have to ask you to do this more often…I see why Vladimir likes this so much, it feels very nice…according to my beloved, it feels much better after gorging one’s self. I might have to test that.” Well, that’s not what he expected. Ezreal manages a smile and-- “Oh yes, and answer the question please, my little mate.”

Another quiet sigh, “I…I…well, ever since seeing you two, I have been a bit…erm…fond of you both.” Ezreal notes Dmitri’s eyebrows raise, even though the beast’s eyes remain closed, and the male’s smile quirk upward somewhat. He again almost exhales in relief; his answer is good so far, it seems. “Vladimir I met in spring and a part of me wanted so badly to try and court him, but I knew better than to try and instead stayed well away as best as I could. How I feel about him now…I like him, but I need to see him again when he’s not mad at me. My last encounter was a death threat, so that doesn’t go well.”

Dmitri nods, scooting the tiniest bit closer, “Understandable…mmm, a bit lower, little one.”

Ezreal nearly chokes; does it really feel that good? He shifts in place a few times, but reluctantly obliges when Dmitri again opens one eye slightly to check and make sure the boy is paying attention. He just doesn’t dare start disobeying what might as well be considered orders…not until he knows he is safe. Even then he might not be able to. But, he has to scrub down there anyway so why not while ordered to do so?

As somewhat expected, Dmitri makes some sort of pleased sound and tenses, then relaxes again, “Ahh…good, good; this really does feel quite nice, little one. Now, as you were saying?”

“Erm…I’m glad?” Ezreal can’t exactly stop the heat now resting in his face; he feels horribly humiliated having to bathe another adult creature, even if it is a superior. It must just be that human part of his brain resurfacing; clothing seems somewhat optional in this world and he really isn’t used to having to wash some guy he just met. “Anyway uhm…you know how I met you, but I uh--” he cuts off abruptly here, realizing he _really_ doesn’t want to share that dream of his and instead makes something up, “when I finally got away and settled down, I sort of again felt some odd attraction to you. I was scared to death of you, more so than Vladimir, but a part of me still wanted to get to know you and all.” Technically not lying, just…avoiding details.

Dmitri raises a brow, opening one eye again and smirking, “You are leaving out something, I can hear it in your heartbeat and in how quickly you stopped speaking…but, I will not push. What you told me is true, so I will ask for details later.” His smirk turns to a curious grin, if there is such a thing, “What do you think of me now?”

Before Ezreal can quite stop himself, he answers with the first thing that comes to mind, “Bossy, but polite--” his breath catches and he immediately shakes his head, “I-- I mean what I meant to say was polite but terrifying! I really didn’t-- I mean I really like you but--”

The other male laughs, quite heartily at that, and shakes his head, “Do not fret little one! Do not think you are the first to say that, and _please_ do not think I will kill you for doing so! I want honesty, and you gave it to me…at least in your first answer. Please, calm yourself and finish up, I am quite starved.”

Again the younger male swallows, nodding as he starts washing Dmitri’s inner thigh a bit then rinsing the washcloth out, “That should do it,” he hands the rag back, which Dmitri stores away within the rocks, “where to now?”

His companion raises a brow, as if questioning something. Ezreal frowns; what did he miss? He washed everywhere that Dmitri wanted, even a bit longer on the stomach…what else could he want? He took the cloth away anyway so-- wait. The boy swallows nervously yet again, a habit he seems to have picked up since being turned, and again feels that familiar heat resting in his cheeks. Does Dmitri _really_ expect him to…well, the creature’s grin says yes to that. Ezreal whines, shaking his head, “You can’t be serious, I mean I just washed you and everything won’t that just sort of mess it up?”

“No, it is, like I have said, a common way to groom others. I will be nice this once and let you off the hook if you at least do the same I did for you.” Dmitri leans forward, his grin shrinking back to a smile as if to try and ease Ezreal’s nerves. It doesn’t help much at all really, if at all for that matter, but it’s the thought that counts, he guesses.

Ezreal shifts as he again looks around at anything but Dmitri, then whines shortly after starting his nervous actions. Of course, this earns a slightly wider smile from the larger male prior to Ezreal leaning toward his companion then hesitantly sliding his tongue over the other’s cheek. Dmitri remains still but very watchful; Ezreal doubts it is out of paranoia of being attacked so much as curiosity of what the younger male will do. Whatever the reason, he tries to ignore it as he finishes his _hopefully_ final order having to do with bathing his larger mate.

Dmitri again utters a low purr in a very different tone than the one before, which startles Ezreal but soon…somehow it soothes him. The younger male relaxes heavily and purrs in response, though why he does he isn’t sure, and continues his task longer than he really needs to. For some reason he doesn’t find himself caring too much, either, which again strikes him as strange. He manages to at least stop licking the other male, but instead nuzzles Dmitri a few times before stopping completely and leaning back. That…that was strange.

The landlord’s smile quirks up somewhat, “You are still getting used to your new animal instincts when around others, it seems. This will certainly be _very_ interesting, little one.”

He shakes his head, “How…what was that?” Dmitri gets up and shakes off, then begins to put his clothing back on. Somehow, even though his shirt and coat were left on during the whole marking thing before, the larger male managed to keep them clean. Ezreal is just thankful he doesn’t have to wash his own clothes again. Ezreal starts somewhat then hops off the rocks, into the river, then wades back to shore in a much less graceful manner, but it works. He shakes off then begins gathering and replacing his clothing as well.

“That, my dear little one, is just one of many vocalizations that prompt one of many responses. Depending on the tone, pitch, and time you use it, it can provoke different reactions. Such as some growls will sound menacing, while others will sound like a mere warning, and others will sound harmless. It is quite interesting…” Dmitri buckles his belt back up then swiftly puts his coat and shirt back on in one fluid motion, buttoning up both completely in the time it takes for Ezreal to get his pants back on. The older creature chuckles, “Anyway, as far as actually responding to a noise goes, it depends on how much self control you wish to have and what tone the other creature manages to use.” Dmitri helps Ezreal with his shirt and coat, even if said help wasn’t needed or entirely wanted, and then the belt as well, “I have had several human lifetimes to practice the use of different vocalizations, so don’t feel annoyed if you automatically react a certain way to something I do.”

Ezreal shifts, partially out of the discomfort of Dmitri helping with his belt and partially out of nervousness, “Does that mean you could make me do just about anything just by making a sound?”

Dmitri shrugs, standing up straight again then urging Ezreal to follow him to his cabin, “Depends, but that is somewhat true. Again, however, it all depends on control, and vocals are pretty limited to only small reactions such as calming another, which I tried to do but it did not quite work as planned, urging another to mate with you, requesting company, or requesting food. There are more but it is nothing like ‘go kill yourself by eating your own organs then tearing your own head off’ or ‘murder something for me.’” He smiles at Ezreal’s ever paling face, “Have you ever heard strange noises in the woods during spring, and for some reason a part of you wanted to find the source?” The boy nods, already pretty sure of where this is going. “That would be one. Anyway, enough of that, do not fret over it! Let us go get something nice to eat, hm?”

However curious he might be, Ezreal lets the topic slide and follows Dmitri through the ever thickening woods. It seems there are _a lot_ of things he doesn’t know about his own species…hopefully he learns quickly, or he has a feeling his new mates might decide to toy with him in his current state.

-x-x-

It doesn’t take too long to get to Dmitri’s cabin given how close he lives to the river, and as expected they chat the whole way up until they reach the doorway. Ezreal must admit, he really likes having someone to talk to again…even if he is still wary of this creature. Once at the door, Dmitri slips his hand between two of his lower coat buttons, and pulls out a small, silvery object that was presumably attached to his belt. Strange, Ezreal doesn’t remember seeing anything there…then again, he didn’t pay much attention while removing it-- oh, it’s a key.

Dmitri inserts the key into the cabin’s door, and with a swift turn it is unlatched and he returns the small silver item to his belt. Dmitri steps aside and waves his hand toward the door, “I would say ‘ladies first,’ but…well, how about ‘little mates first’?” Ezreal holds back a sigh at the constant reminder of his inferiority when compared to his mates; that and he can’t exactly help the fact he’s a bit on the short side due to his age. Normally it wouldn’t bother him, but being called that is somewhat-- “Go on, little one.”

The boy walks in, ducking somewhat as he passes Dmitri; that’s how it works, right? If he passes a superior he bows his head…? He isn’t sure, but Dmitri seems happy by it nonetheless, which is the goal here. Once inside-- Ezreal’s jaw drops. He…he has never seen a place so nice before. Decorations of many types adorn the wooden walls of the cabin, and it is surprisingly well lit for a vampire’s nest. Candles sit in fancy little holders on the walls, ceiling, tables-- “You have a fireplace?!”

“Yes, myself and Vladimir both have one, actually, but Vladimir doesn’t use his often for whatever reason. I think he is wary of burning his home down…” Dmitri shakes his head, once again letting a soft laugh escape him, “anyway, my home is your home, so feel free to explore. Just do so within a reasonable time, we still have to eat, after all.”

As if on cue, Ezreal’s stomach growls, earning a slight reddening of the face from him and another laugh from Dmitri. He nods, “We should eat first, I’ll never stop walking around if you let me look around now.”

Dmitri again bares his fangs in a grin, “Ah, great choice!” Ezreal scrambles back and falls right on his rear, the landlord’s swift movement toward him with fangs bared being a bit too much for him to just stand still. It probably doesn’t help Dmitri was trying to grab at him, likely just to lead him to the basement, but…well, not much he can do now. His mate blinks, smile fading in an instant to a look of confusion, “What is wrong, little one? How have I frightened you?” Dmitri offers a hand to help, but Ezreal just stares up at his companion’s eyes. The boy’s own eyes are wide, panicked; his heart is still racing as well.

Ezreal forces himself to stop shaking, though his eyes remain locked on Dmitri as he tentatively accepts the other’s hand and is pulled back up to his feet. He bows immediately upon releasing Dmitri’s hand, uttering a low apology then carefully looking up. His companion seems confused, pleased, but confused. He truly didn’t mean to back off, it just…startled him. Ezreal leapt back out of instinct and nothing more; he is wary of Dmitri, but…he had no idea he was _this_ on edge about his newest mate.

“It is no trouble at all, little one, I just wonder why it is you acted as you did. Did I do something to frighten you?” Dmitri again seems legitimately baffled, though he signals to stand up straight again with a sharp nod upward, which Ezreal gratefully does so.

The boy nods, then shakes his head, “I’m just a bit jumpy is all. When you moved toward me so quickly I sort of panicked.” Dmitri raises a brow, skeptical of Ezreal’s story but obviously too hungry to push further. The landlord lets this slide this time and again smiles, moving around and enabling him to rest a hand on Ezreal’s side in order to guide him and keep him close.

This cabin again never ceases to amaze Ezreal; the lighting…it has a calming effect on him. It is also very warm compared to outside, which is much welcomed after that numbing river bath from before; it should be expected given the candles and fireplace. However, as they head toward the basement things get much darker, colder, and not at all decorated. When the stairway starts, it is no longer wood but stone that makes up the walls, though the staircase itself remains wooden, if not a darker and stronger type. Ezreal tries to back away out of instinct, though is kept in place by his mate; he remembers this hallway vaguely from when Dmitri captured him those months ago…plus only a fool would willingly follow this beast to where he keeps his prey.

Ezreal is just that fool.

Dmitri again reaches under his coat and grabs a few more keys, not nearly as small or pretty as the first. These ones are slightly bigger and are brownish-red in color, like rust. It is a skeleton key, from what Ezreal remembers, and it is on a metal loop along with three or four other keys that look almost exactly like it, just varying in size. The boy whimpers, again trying to back off; he remembers this as well…the click of those little workings in the door, the horrible screech it makes when it opens-- which happens now when Dmitri hefts the heavy metal door open with ease.

Those keys are returned to his belt with a happy hum, “Do not fret, little one, you are coming down here as a dinner guest, not as my next meal.” Dmitri shows off his teeth, probably just to playfully frighten Ezreal, which it does even if it isn’t a playful feeling, then urges the boy forward. “Come now, let’s get going, I am _famished_.” His last word is emphasized in a growl.

It takes all Ezreal has not to dig his heels into the ground as they walk through the doorway, Dmitri slamming it shut behind them, then walking through the small hall before the main room. There are two side halls leading to what looks to be a sort of washroom and another that-- Ezreal again bites back a whine; the tools in that room are _definitely_ not used for common household things like woodwork or making things or fixing them. The fact they are spotless helps prove this. Manual saws, cleavers, and several tools Ezreal doesn’t even recognize.

Dmitri rubs his hand up and down the boy’s side in a swift action, as if trying to warm him, “Like I said, do not worry about it. Pick our meal and we will leave.” Ezreal feels Dmitri sniff his hair, nuzzling it somewhat as well, “Mmm…that soap makes you smell quite nice, little one.” Ezreal stiffens, to which his mate just laughs and continues walking, the younger male right at his side.

When last Ezreal was here, Dmitri’s storage had no other creatures in it…it must have been a slow time for him then. Now…now he can already smell the reek of several different creatures, many he doesn’t recognize at all. When they finally walk into sight range-- Ezreal holds back a cry, but of shock not fear. In neat rows at each end of the room _hang_ many, many different creatures-- he…he had thought that was just a made-up story. Obviously not. It is a medium-sized basement, but Dmitri has managed to fit several creatures and still have a small amount of space between each. However, each creature is still within attacking range of the other, this much is clear given some of those wounds, but most seem too dazed and weak to care.

But what shocks Ezreal most is the sheer condition of these beasts; how do they even keep going? Sure, most cannot be killed unless one does something specific, but there are _humans_ in here and they are just…well, they are like all the others. All are chained by the arms and hung by those chains on a hook attached to the ceiling…some are missing limbs, some have bite wounds, claw marks, _chunks of flesh missing_ , and most look drained to their limit. What does happen to bleed out falls on the tile below and the slightly tilted floor design leads most of it to a drain in the center of the room. He…he is at a loss for words and does his best not to run off.

“Welcome to my storage, little one, and please do excuse the smell, I need to clean up at some point. Plus these swine are smelly as it is.” Dmitri looks around, curling his lip in disgust for but a moment before taking a few steps then turning around to face Ezreal with a smile, “Now, go on and choose!” His partner spreads his arms to emphasize the room, then lets them fall at his sides once more with the quiet sound of cloth hitting cloth.

Ezreal backs away, shaking his head; he would have run right out of here if Dmitri didn’t lock the door behind them. His animal side finds this room highly appealing and is itching to just jump on something and start tearing it apart-- but the humanity left in his mind refuses to even consider it as an option. He has devoured animals because people eat animals all the time…but these are his own species, humans, and who knows what else. There are things with fur, scales, feathers, wings, fins, and everything else one could imagine and then some. Quadrupeds, bipeds, things that fly, things that slither, things that burrow, and things that swim…Dmitri clearly enjoys variety in his diet, and boy does it show.

Everything has a wound from being chewed on or drained at some point or another, be it by missing limbs or just chunks of flesh torn off to reveal bone. There is not one hanging, metallic hook unoccupied by some weakened and bleeding creature or human…it is like a butcher’s freezer except a slight bit warmer and _everything_ is still living. It reeks of blood and death and waste and flesh and…

The young male sees Dmitri tilt his head curiously, “Have you selected something? Go on, something nice! Anything you would like; even a mixture! Mixtures are always quite tasty, little one.”

Another shake of his head and a low whimper, “I-- no.” Dmitri raises a brow, which earns a start from Ezreal, “No thank you-- I just…I can’t. Can-- I mean, may I please leave? The smell and sight of this is making me sick…” While this isn’t the only reason, it is true. The smell of waste and blood and who knows what else is potent, easily nauseating him. Plus it’s cold, causing him to shiver which only makes it worse. He doesn’t dare look Dmitri in the eyes at this point, mostly out of shame. He feels as if his pride has been gashed with a knife for refusing to simply choose something; humiliating to him, even though he morally cannot do it.

Dmitri sighs, but nods understandingly, “I will choose something for us then.” He again reaches under his coat and grabs the keys from his belt, tossing them to Ezreal whom so fumbles to catch them, “I will wash a few of these swine up for us to dine on, you may go upstairs and rest if you wish. Make yourself at home, little one, and please do not think of me as upset with you…I truly did not know you would react this way. I should have expected as much, but I did not. I apologize; I will make this up to you later.” Dmitri offers a charming smile, which Ezreal hesitantly returns with a sheepish and very much forced one.

He doesn’t dare look back as he leaves, not wanting to see what poor sap Dmitri will mutilate for their dinner. It doesn’t take a genius to see that Dmitri eats and drinks bits and pieces from each, never finishing just one victim but dragging out their miserable life for who knows how long. Ezreal again feels himself getting queasy as he ascends to the main room, eagerly welcoming the scent of candles and wood.

-x-x-

Ezreal immediately goes to the couch and plops down, curling up a bit out of instinct and an attempt to calm his stomach. He had heard of how vicious and cruel Dmitri is to anything he catches but…the young creature never imagined it would be _this_ horrifying. How could one so kind and polite treat other creatures, _especially_ humans and other vampires, in such a cruel manner? Dmitri clearly has no regret and no sympathy over what he does and for the creatures he does this to. How is it so easy for him to slowly watch another die? All of the creatures down there did not even bother begging for mercy…in all likelihood, they have tried many times before and know it is pointless. They’ve given up, resigned to their slow, agonizing fate.

The boy shakes his head, curling up a bit tighter; no more of that basement. Ezreal is pretty sure Dmitri will continue to take him down there until he is used to it, but for now he should try and relax and distract himself from such things. For instance, he could think about how insane the past several hours have been. First Vladimir caught him, which is really no surprise in and of itself; Ezreal knew one of those monsters would catch him eventually, it was only a matter of time and who would be the lucky beast to chow down on his corpse. He never expected to be marked by one, though, much less two.

As far as mates go, Ezreal always thought he would find his own. He was certain that if some creature tried courting him, he would not be able to trust said creature at all. He had also assumed the one whom he courted would be of the opposite gender given one of his highest instincts is to reproduce. He partially wonders if he was mistaken for a female…again. It has happened many times before with brutish male vampires, even if those never actually mated with him so much as thrust against him, so why not this time? Then again, Vladimir didn’t seem to mind even when the whole gender thing was sorted out for certain. Dmitri seemed legitimately surprised, but maybe that was just because it was Vladimir who claimed him…well, whatever the reason, here he is claimed by a landlord and not at all how he expected. And not just one landlord, but _two_ and both are _male_ and tried to _eat him_ …this whole mess is about fifty levels of weird.

Probably the worst, or best depending on the angle, part of all this is that Ezreal doesn’t find himself too agitated about any of it. He…he actually loves both of his mates, even if Vladimir snapped at him and Dmitri is bossy all the time. His face heats up a bit; so far as he can remember, he has never even dated…now he is eternally, quite literally in this sense, partnered with two strangers that he actually adores despite what all they’ve done to him. He also gets a new home, territory, food…he is set for life, hopefully, and quite honestly even if he disliked his mates it is a fair tradeoff. He shifts, enjoying the feel of soft cloth on his skin rather than dirt and sharp grass.

It is only now he realizes just how strange it will be to sleep in a bed or couch again after having slept on rocks, and maybe leaves if he was lucky, for so long…always so cold and fearful of what might come and get him while he slept. Ever since he was turned, he hasn’t had a full night’s rest or so much as a peaceful nap. He is always scared and always on high alert until his body refuses to keep going. Ezreal closes his eyes and nuzzles the soft fabric; it smells heavily of both landlords, which he probably should have expected given the fact he now knows Vladimir is claimed by Dmitri as well.

Speaking of Vladimir…he almost dreads seeing the other male again. Was it truly just a bad case of morning irritability or worse? Ezreal shudders somewhat, though for once not partially from the cold. The fireplace is crackling away, and seeing as the couch is but a few feet from it… _oh_ does it feel nice. He has never had the chance to make a fire seeing as if he did he would attract every hungry predator within ten miles, _if he’s lucky_.

Though Dmitri scares him, Ezreal must admit this is the safest he has felt since being turned. The mixture of comfort, nice smells, and warmth is easily enough to help his stomach settle down quicker than he has ever had it. He has had his fair share of sickness, including bouts of nausea, so having his stomach calm so quickly…it feels pleasant to say the least.

Ezreal feels himself slowly slipping into sleep; he could use a little nap at least, given how long it’s been since he’s had a nice, long rest. He smiles faintly and again nuzzles the soft fabric below him, quite enjoying the scent of both landlords plus that fabric and wood smell; a simple thing, really, but he hasn’t been on a couch in over a year. His mind begins to clear, but sadly right before actually falling asleep he feels the cushion next to him sink slightly. Is Dmitri done? Then again, it shouldn’t take long to chop stuff up, clean it, then get some blood. Maybe Dmitri will let him sleep for just a little while…

Again the cushion moves a bit, this time he also feels Dmitri kiss him on the cheek. Ezreal’s face heats up slightly, but he pretends to remain asleep; even when he hears a low purr-like sound and feels his cheek nuzzled before the landlord leaves him be. If Dmitri’s going to wait on eating until he shows up for food, maybe he should go…he can sleep later, after all, and maybe even on a nice bed if his mate will allow it. He’s hungry anyway, and why sleep on an empty stomach?

With food in mind, the boy stretches and yawns, reluctantly opening his eyes to ensure he doesn’t start to drift off again-- that is _not_ Dmitri. Ezreal starts, moving further up the couch as much as he can, which isn’t much, though remains lying down, and brings his legs to his chest. He _knew_ he smelled Vladimir, but he honestly thought it was the sofa, not the real deal. Well, it’s the real thing and with very real fangs being shown off as the landlord shifts to hunch over him. Vladimir’s feet remain spread out but set right in front of Ezreal’s shins while one hand rests behind the boy’s head and another next to his chest.

The younger creature gulps nervously, trying to remain still and hold back his shuddering. Vladimir leans down again, his face right in front of Ezreal’s, “I thought you might come here…” he takes a long pause, which Ezreal assumes is him debating on the slowest and most painful death he can-- “are you well? Have you been fed?” …Huh?

Ezreal blinks, visibly confused but unable to voice it until a few moments later, “I…I’m fine and no, I haven’t eaten yet, but I thought you were mad at me?” His statement comes out as a question, which doesn’t surprise him much anymore. That seems to happen often with these two…one never can be sure what’s going on.

Surprisingly, Vladimir shakes his head, “That was my own fault, my dear, I did not mean to yell at you…it just happened. I apologize for that.” Again the other leans forward, leaving but an inch between their faces, “As for you not being fed, I find this an issue that should have been resolved the moment you got here.” Ezreal pales, attempting and failing to shrink back into the cushion enough that Vladimir isn’t _right_ in his face. He can’t of course, but it was worth a shot.

“W-wait a second, you mean you aren’t mad at me?” Ezreal frowns, “Why did you yell at me then? If this is going to be a common thing then I want nothing to do with it.” And yet, why does he already feel as if he has forgiven his mate? He should be furious this guy snapped at him, threatened his life, and scared him half to death. He shouldn’t have forgiven Vladimir yet, that’s just not how he does things; this creature should know better, if he forgives the other right away, what stops this beast from flipping out again?

Vladimir sighs, his breath reeking of a recent meal…and yet, Ezreal enjoys the scent, “Again, I apologize; sometimes I just do not quite have my head together when I wake up after having little sleep…or if something wakes me. Both of those combined makes it much worse. I am willing to bet Dmitri mentioned the time he tried to wake me to notify me of a small group of intruders, but I ended up attacking him instead of rushing out the door.” Ezreal shakes his head slightly; Dmitri did say Vladimir had taken a bite out of him a few times, but he never explained why.

Ezreal furrows his brow, “No one woke you up--”

“You are a heavy sleeper, aren’t you? That or used to sleeping in bitter cold. I woke up many times those few hours and gave up then seeing as it was pointless trying to sleep while there is a frigid wind blowing.” The larger creature grunts, “Especially with some of my clothing removed. I never meant to lash at you, but in my eyes you were pestering me when you kept following along and insisting you patrol. You should be thankful it was only words and not teeth that I used to snap at you.”

The boy nods hesitantly, shifting somewhat and trying to ignore the heat on his face, “So does that mean you don’t mind me sticking around and hunting and everything?” So much for asking if this beast loves him as much as he does the other. Ezreal notes Vladimir’s smirk at his nervous behavior, but doesn’t bother trying to hide the fact. Ezreal can hear his own heart racing, a sound his mind usually tunes out due to its constant presence…but now it’s simply too loud not to hear.

He still doesn’t understand it…Dmitri has been so nice to him, nothing _but_ nice, and yet Vladimir has bitten him, torn the back of his neck, called him names, yelled at him, and threatened him; yet he leans toward Vladimir in his affections. Ezreal _prefers_ the one whom so said he would tear the boy apart should he stay within the monster’s territory. How does that work?

The monster above him, ever oblivious to his inner turmoil of sorts, grins widely and replies, “I do not mind in the least and in fact want you to stay with us tonight.” And again Ezreal’s heart feels as if it skips a beat at this point…or a few, who knows. Vladimir chuckles, “Now, let us see about getting you fed.”

Ezreal opens his mouth to explain Dmitri is already preparing all of them a meal, but is interrupted with a swift kiss. Well, not exactly swift in how long it lasts, that’s for sure, just in how fast Vladimir acted. Ezreal is unsure how long that kiss would have gone on, though he bets a good while, had Dmitri not walked up and smacked the back of Vladimir’s head, promptly ending that kiss.

Dmitri clicks his tongue, “Cannot simply wait until I have finished preparing food for all of us, can you? Instead you wish to share your own?” Vladimir is no doubt about to reply when the eldest landlord continues, “On top of your lack of patience is your usual lack of thinking ahead or consideration of others’ feelings. Our little mate here is new to vampiric customs and will no doubt consider your intended actions as…oh, what is the human term…revolting? Disgusting? I am rather sure those are still used.” He tilts his head a moment, staring toward the ceiling in thought for a split second before again returning his attention to Vladimir, “Either way, let him learn and adjust.”

Vladimir huffs, deciding to move his legs so they rest at either side of Ezreal’s then lets himself sit right down on the younger creature below him, to which said younger creature flinches. “He will never learn if we do not teach him, Dmitri.”

“I agree, simply not by example just yet. Let him adjust to life with us and trust us, then you may begin teaching him.” Dmitri smiles sweetly in return to Vladimir’s glare, not caring the least of that same beast’s low growl. Ezreal, meanwhile, remains completely silent, relieved the attention is off of him for now, even if it likely won’t last long. “Come, I have everything set up for our meal!” Though he says to move and even points down one of the hallways for a moment, Dmitri remains in place as if ensuring the creature sitting on Ezreal actually gets off and heads toward what he assumes is the dining room.

Rather than simply get up, Ezreal is shocked to see Vladimir _leap_ off with a feral snarl and send Dmitri right to the ground. Ezreal sits up with a start, even if the eldest landlord won’t need _his_ help, to peek over the couch and is somewhat surprised yet somewhat anticipated to see Vlad just kissing Dmitri as he straddles his waist. Is that common? Ezreal watches curiously for a moment, only now noting that it is only he and Dmitri in this group that are wearing shoes; for some reason or another, it seems Vladimir has left his fancy red and silver boots elsewhere, revealing his clawed feet. It’s a wonder he doesn’t scratch the sofa or floor while sitting the way he has, that is the upper part of his foot flat on the floor while from the arch to heel is in the air. Chances are this is so he is always prepared to jump or run, but Ezreal cannot say for sure.

What he can say for sure is that Dmitri clearly doesn’t mind this and in fact sounds like he is urging Vladimir on with some of the noises that beast ends up making. In response Vladimir simply does as he had been, just a bit more eagerly and with a bit more pushing up against the elder landlord. Ezreal blinks a few times then shakes his head; he probably shouldn’t be watching this.

He is pretty certain that this might last a little while, so he cautiously decides to head toward where Dmitri had pointed earlier and leave the landlords alone for a bit. Ezreal slinks out as quietly as he can, though it doesn’t matter _too_ much given Vladimir’s growling noises. Dmitri certainly is one of the most tolerant vampires, or creatures in general for that matter, that Ezreal has _ever_ seen or heard of…then again, this isn’t his public appearance and there must be other kind creatures out there.

Ezreal finds the dining room pretty easily and takes this time to sniff around, quite literally, and find out what all is in this meal and dining room in general. He can smell meals long past, some beginning to fade while others still strong, while the current meal…he cannot identify any smells here aside from some vampire meat in there somewhere. Ezreal whines quietly; well, he knows what to avoid at least. He’s sure Vladimir wouldn’t mind an extra helping, assuming that’s how this works. How _does_ vampire table etiquette work anyway? Do they even use any? Is it just grab what he can or go home hungry? Is it what he is given is all he gets? Choice of food and drink in order of hierarchy? Reverse hierarchy order? It could be any number of things and is ever so likely something Ezreal cannot even think of.

Well, that messy mishmash of meat aside, the rest of the table is a very nice, smooth wood and has a few fancy plates set up. One platter at the end and one on other side of the middle one, which Ezreal is willing to bet is Dmitri’s spot. Given the plate on the left hand side across from him is chipped pretty heavily, it is safe to assume if the same plates are used, that is Vladimir’s. It’s hard to imagine that monster using a plate, much less one of the forks, knives, or spoons off to the side, but it seems Dmitri has him doing just that. Strange what one does for people-- well, _creatures_ they love.

Despite how disgusting their dinner looks, Ezreal’s stomach soon reminds him just how long it has been since a proper meal. He has been stealing from these two for awhile now, and those other males have eaten well enough recently…maybe once more wouldn’t hurt. The landlords are distracted and _one_ chunk of meat missing won’t be missed, now will it? Especially if it’s one of the smaller pieces on the platter, one of which Ezreal would likely end up with anyway.

All in all, it’s nothing much and he’s starving too much to think about waiting who knows how long for the landlords to settle down and decide to come to dinner. Ezreal takes longer trying to figure out which meat piece is not human or vampire than he does actually bothering to check if his mates had stopped their make out session. These thoughts aside, he does manage to choose a really nice bit that he has never tasted anything like. He can’t quite describe the taste, but it’s _wonderful_ , especially to one so hungry as he is. He probably should have just waited seeing as eating that small piece only makes him _more_ , not less, hungry and tempts him to debating on if he should snag another bit of dinner. As to be expected for one of his age, he gives in and quietly snags another piece--

“Now who is eager to start eating, Dmitri?” Ezreal yelps and jumps to the side in an attempt to get away from the large creature behind him. Vladimir snickers, his already arrogant grin growing more so when the younger male panics and lowers himself a bit, offering the stolen food item to his nearest mate. Vladimir accepts the offer without a word, which relieves Ezreal until Dmitri walks up from the doorway. Strangely, Ezreal finds himself backing toward the far more aggressive of the two in order to keep away from Dmitri. Why he does this, he isn’t sure, but he doesn’t focus on it much.

Dmitri easily notices this and laughs in response, taking it upon himself to only further unnerve the youngest creature here by moving closer, even hunching over slightly as if stalking prey-- “I think our main course is eating our appetizer.” He purrs, his grin now displaying his teeth when Ezreal backs up against Vladimir completely. “Ooh, Vladimir, my beloved, I think he likes you!” From dark to singsong, Dmitri’s tone changes completely when he says this. Thankfully, Dmitri also stands up straight again and turns his terrifying grin back to a mildly disturbing smile.

Ezreal feels Vladimir wrap an arm around his back then bend down and swiftly set his other arm under the boy’s legs, lifting Ezreal up bridal style. He doesn’t quite mean to yelp, but he does anyway due to the sudden action, to which Vladimir just snickers, “Mm, you are right, I think he does. He seems rather comfy around me, doesn’t he? Such a _cute_ little meal, is he not, Dmitri?”

It is all too clear, and has been for awhile, they are joking with him, but Ezreal can’t help but have a constant nagging feeling they are serious and simply enjoy playing with their food. Which they do, so his fright is warranted. Because of this, he remains completely quiet out of instinct and does his best to calm himself…which, strangely, being held by Vladimir helps. Why does he fear Dmitri, the kinder landlord, yet trust and flee to Vladimir, one of the most aggressive monsters he has ever met? He faintly wonders if Dmitri might know, but right now he is simply too afraid to ask.

Fear is something he despises; as a human, he was afraid of nothing because he assumed he knew everything that was out there. There were no such thing as dragons or werewolves or wraiths; the only creatures he had to be wary of were large predators that are _stupid_ compared to himself and easily escaped from or avoided altogether. Exploring dark caves with nothing but a small light was no problem. Jungles? No big deal. Ruins filled to the brim with deadly traps? Not a problem. But this? This terrifies him. He cannot outsmart or overpower these creatures…but most of all, he can’t be sure if they love him or wish to devour him. He feels the strong desire to stay near his mates for his own safety and because he adores them, and yet he has a just as strong desire to run as far as he can.

His vision refocuses and he feels Vladimir nuzzling him, but he only notices this when his attention shifts as Dmitri moves toward him. Ezreal tenses, any possible plea he might make caught in his throat as his eldest mate stops short of brushing against Ezreal to give him a quick kiss and rub on the belly. Unlike back at the river where he was much too tense to feel anything from that, this time he is relaxed enough to, as Dmitri and Vladimir have both said at some point or another, find it does in fact feel _very_ nice when his belly is lightly massaged. He involuntarily purrs, to which both his mates laugh as if watching a kitten roll around on the floor.

Dmitri repeats the action, and strangely Ezreal is more focused on how nice the feeling is rather than how close this monster’s claws are to his insides. He…he can’t even explain why, but he feels relaxed and it just feels _good_. The eldest landlord hums, “You described him as being much more of a hassle than he actually is, Vladimir…he is quite tame.” Ezreal’s stomach again reminds him how hungry he is, and does so loudly enough for the other two creatures to hear. The young male shifts, to which Dmitri again laughs and withdraws his hand, “And hungry! I had nearly forgotten dinner, I apologize.”

Vladimir glances at the table then back to Dmitri, “I do hope you intend to make him earn that seat.” He nods to what Ezreal had correctly assumed to be his spot at the table; it seems, however, Vladimir has a problem with it for some reason. Just what could he mean by earning a spot at--

“Oh, yes, I fully intend to, Vladimir, do not worry.” Dmitri rather abruptly turns around and heads into the kitchen, returning a few moments later and dropping what looks like a _dog_ dish on Ezreal’s stomach. Vladimir seems pleased enough while Dmitri takes it on himself to explain in order to ease the boy’s clear confusion, “Due to how new you are to our home, and to vampirism in general, _you_ are the one left at the bottom. By this, I mean you are essentially a pet to us until you prove your worth.” Dmitri’s smile almost seems to darken, “To earn a spot at the table, you have to have a little wrestling match with me.”

Ezreal gapes, though shuts his mouth shortly after and shakes his head, squirming a bit in Vladimir’s arms, “What? I don’t stand a chance against you and you know it! I couldn’t win if it was Vladimir I had to fight!” he only then notices his raise in tone, which could be seen as offensive, but _really_? A _pet_? Is that all he is to his mates? Something to feed, play with, and use to ease themselves yet is forced to eat on the floor like a dog and stay off their bed? He feels angry and hurt by this, but tries to keep himself from yelling at them too much; these creatures are still stronger than him and _very_ hungry.

The oldest creature appears to hold back a laugh, “Who said fighting? I said wrestling, and by wrestling I mean you have to escape from me.” Ezreal pales, to which Dmitri cheerfully takes his cue to continue, “You either keep running and evade me for about an hour, or you try and escape while I try and keep you held. I doubt you will escape me again in this state, so that clearly leaves wrestling for a little while to try and escape me.” He grins, displaying his fangs, “If I win, you eat on the floor and I will drink from you for as long as I desire! Maybe I could even try some of your meat this time, too…” Ezreal bites back a whimper, but thankfully this goes unnoticed seeing as Dmitri is a bit preoccupied with the thought of _tasting his flesh_. The larger creature snaps out of it then grins, “If you win, you earn a seat next to me that is not on the floor. On top of this, you may drink from me for a bit if you wish.”

Vladimir chuckles while Ezreal holds back his pitiful vocalizations and instead wonders _why_ vampires have to be so picky about strength and hierarchy. Most animals are, but these guys are smarter than that _why_ do they have to do this? He can’t change their behavior, though, and he doesn’t have much a choice here…Dmitri’s offer of a simple game is better than having to all-out challenge him, even if the rewards for Ezreal are rather tame while the penalty for losing is horrific _and_ humiliating.

Dmitri, thankfully, is patient in waiting for Ezreal’s decision and doesn’t try to rush the young male; Vladimir seems to be more amused than anything, probably because it isn’t him having to do this-- wait…Vladimir had to do this at some point, and if Dmitri had Vladimir do this, that means he was seen as weak at the time...and yet, Vladimir likely didn’t show his full strength and knew he would be challenged. Ezreal purses his lips; he has no chance against Dmitri in a physical fight, but what if he tricks the large male into releasing him? Given how smart Dmitri is, this won’t be--

“I think our little mate doesn’t want to play.” Vladimir purrs, nipping Ezreal’s ear a little before setting the boy down, “I guess by default you win, Dmitri.”

Ezreal starts, backing up and shaking his head, “No! I’ll fight! I was just--”

Before he can say anything more, Vladimir grabs him by the upper arm and drags him outside. Dmitri follows, offering only a shrug in response to Vladimir being so eager to watch them fight. Ezreal assumes it is simply because the larger of the three is hungry and wants this done and over with, but it could be in part that he just wants to see how Ezreal does. Vladimir said himself he is interested in Ezreal, and in all likelihood that extends to more than just the boy’s appearance…that, or the aggressive male is glad he is no longer the lowest ranking creature here and wants to see someone else dominated by Dmitri.

Well, those thoughts aside, Ezreal ends up dragged across the yard until some mental cue causes Vladimir to release the young male. Once Ezreal is left alone, Vladimir taking his leave to stand several feet away from both of them, the boy takes his small amount of time to take a quick look around their backyard. The yard is pretty much just a clearing in the trees which is no doubt man or monster made as it is a near perfect half-circle and a _huge_ one at that. It gives plenty of room for playing and likely serves to prevent creatures from sneaking around their backyard unseen. If it weren’t for his given situation, Ezreal would probably have said how beautiful it is out here.

Dmitri takes his place in front of Ezreal soon after the boy’s quick look around the place, smiling all the while, “Alright, little one, it is your call as to if you wish to run when I attempt to catch you or just let me wrestle you to the ground and get a nice grip on you.” Dmitri says all of this in his usual calm tone, again as if speaking of the weather or something rather than wanting to treat Ezreal like prey and force the young male to escape. “Use whatever means short of attempts to kill me that you deem necessary to escape. Biting, scratching, talking; anything goes so long as neither of us get killed in the process, understood?”

Oh…oh no. If Ezreal is allowed these things, it means Dmitri no doubt is as well. The boy swallows, but puts up his brave look and a less terrified stance; he hasn’t truly meant either of those since he was human…it seems now he is always running, hiding, or submitting to some stronger creature. Maybe eating well and having a mate-- well, _two_ mates to learn from and test his strength on will be beneficial. He will never be the same person he was when he was human, but…maybe he could at least get some of his confidence back.

Ezreal shakes himself from his thoughts then nods, “I understand--”

And just like that, Dmitri steps back a few paces then leaps. Ezreal dodges just barely, but it is enough to let him see that after each leap there is a _small_ window in which Dmitri doesn’t move, possibly from the shock of landing and possibly due to having to reset his position slightly to leap again. Whatever the reason, Ezreal is close enough and quick enough to jump onto Dmitri instead; hey, if Dmitri can’t leap on him, then he eventually wins, right?

Because biting and clawing was specifically mentioned as being allowed, Ezreal wastes little time sinking his teeth into Dmitri’s neck and digging his claws into the larger male in order to ensure he isn’t shaken off. Dmitri sounds surprised given his short pained cry, but soon enough he is laughing and bends down to jump again. Ezreal tightens his grip once the beast jumps, both claw and tooth sinking in a bit further, but sadly it won’t do him much good here. Dmitri is easily able to shift himself back enough that he won’t be landing on his feet but instead on his back, meaning--

 _This_ pained cry is a good amount louder and longer than Dmitri’s and marks the larger male’s release from what Ezreal _thought_ was a good move on his part. Dmitri quickly recovers from his part of that painful landing and turns against the young male, whom so is far too dazed and pained to dodge. Getting the wind knocked out of him and his skull bashed against the ground certainly was painful, but any wound given by that will heal soon enough. Sadly, he is soon tackled, which shocks him into fighting back as best he can. It’s not enough of course and soon Dmitri has him pinned against the ground, his back against the grass to prevent him from trying to squirm out by gripping the dirt and grass below.

Dmitri flashes his fangs, not the least bit winded from their inevitably small wrestling match, “I did not wish to hurt you, little one, but I needed to get you off.” He shifts his position, wrapping his arms around the younger male in a sort of _very_ tight hug; much like earlier, come to think of it. Naturally, this is less friendly and more to disallow Ezreal from using his claws or arms in general. On top of this, one of Dmitri’s legs rests between Ezreal’s and pressed pretty hard against him, making it unlikely the small victim will move much at all lest he risk pain or otherwise to his lower region.

Ezreal does try squirming a bit as best he can, but he simply can’t move enough to wriggle free. He hears Vladimir chuckling, but his main focus is the set of teeth right in front of his face; it is a clear warning that if he bites, Dmitri will bite right back. Given the size comparison of fangs between the two, it’s pretty clear who would win that. Dmitri is used to tearing apart prey while Ezreal usually tries to cut meat with any tools on hand or with his claws and then eat it…the large male would swiftly win and Ezreal would be left with several horrible wounds.

“So,” Dmitri purrs, resting his head against Ezreal’s, “seeing as you have ten more minutes to either let me win or escape, why not make our wait enjoyable, hm?” In what is no doubt a move not to show affection but to disallow any form of strategy on Ezreal’s part, Dmitri shifts just enough to start kissing his young victim. Ezreal’s eyes widen right away, to which he feels Dmitri smirk but continue on with his tactic of fogging the boy’s mind.

Needless to say, it easily works and Ezreal is left with kissing his attacker in return thanks to his stupid animal part of him wanting so badly to go further. How do _both_ landlords put up with those urges anyway? Much less purposely ignite them in another creature by throwing himself into a situation that requires him not to lose control. Ezreal whines a few times-- wait, did Dmitri just lessen his grip the slightest bit? Not much, but a little. Or was he just--

His captor breaks their kiss, “My apologies, I did not mean to harm you.” Dmitri sounds truly sorry and even his smile is apologetic, but it doesn’t stop him from starting another kiss and again making it _extremely_ difficult to think clearly for the younger male. Oh great not again.

He could have sworn Dmitri slightly released his grip, _just_ enough to feel it…and he seems to not want to hurt Ezreal seeing as he hasn’t clawed or bitten at all-- and _why_ does he have to be such a good kisser. It’s simply strategic and nothing more here, the boy constantly tells himself. Any other time is affectionate, sure, but _not_ here and _not_ now. He just has to focus…now where was he anyway? Ezreal bites back another whimper and-- _that’s_ where he was; whining got Dmitri to lessen up because he assumed he was hurting the boy. Would crying out in pain until released work…? He would have to wait for his captor to shift to make this believable, but it could be done.

To get Dmitri to move, Ezreal assumes he will need to move first…not an easy feat. The boy moves one of his legs best he can without hurting himself, acting as if he is trying to kick the landlord or at least get the creature’s leg away by pushing at Dmitri’s foot. His captor chuckles, the beast’s tongue sliding over Ezreal’s lips; this is _not_ what he meant by movement. Sadly, Ezreal makes things worse by accepting Dmitri’s request and opening his mouth without quite wanting to…well, he did, but he didn’t. Dmitri purrs, no doubt enjoying the taste of his small victim. Just what he needed, more distractions. Why did he do that?

Well, the frustration of messing up that badly at least is enough to ignore the pain caused by giving Dmitri’s foot a steady kick, which is _finally_ enough to get Dmitri to shift positions and pin Ezreal’s leg down with his free one. While it doesn’t hurt much at all, Dmitri does put a ton of his weight into that leg in order to keep the younger creature from kicking, so Ezreal finds it as good a time as any to break their kiss with a pained cry.

Strangely, Dmitri is startled by said cry, Ezreal can even see Vladimir jump slightly in his peripheral vision, and immediately Dmitri moves completely and lessens his grip more than Ezreal could have expected. The landlord is about to speak, worry clear on his face, when Ezreal swiftly gets his legs to his chest then pushes off Dmitri and thus gives himself enough momentum to get out from under the creature and scramble away.

Vladimir stands dumbfounded, blinking a few times. The largest landlord stares as if Ezreal had defeated Dmitri in combat rather than just tricking the beast. Ezreal confused by that, yes, but mostly the fact he feels a strange urge to walk on over to Vladimir and hug the aggressive creature. He thankfully is easily able to ignore this and focuses more on why Dmitri is laughing. Usually that means anger for the eldest landlord…Ezreal has seen Vladimir manage to agitate Dmitri to the point of finding himself on the receiving end of those vicious fangs usually partially hidden with a smile. Vladimir ended up pinned to the ground, the creature’s mate giving another bloody wound to Vladimir’s neck while the wounded one himself no doubt apologized until released. The thing is, before that happened, Dmitri was actually laughing and smiling…though when he actually attacked, the usually smiling creature looked furious and made sounds to match.

Ezreal is still unsure what happened back then to trigger such an aggressive act from the usually docile Dmitri, but he probably doesn’t want to find out.

The young male takes a few steps back, tilting his head and opening his mouth to speak, though he never gets a word out. Dmitri stands back up, grinning widely and still uttering a few chuckles as he strides over to the young victor, whom so stands his ground rather than following his gut which tells him to go hide behind Vladimir. He should run, cower, _anything_ rather than nothing, but he can’t make himself move. When he _finally_ does try and back off, Dmitri is already too close and easily grabs the scruff of Ezreal’s shirt to tug him back over.

Usually Ezreal isn’t one to apologize or grovel, but…this seems like a good enough time to try it out, “Look, I don’t know what I did but I _really_ didn’t mean to upset you or anything I really didn’t! I promise it won’t happen again and I’ll try--”

Dmitri raises a brow, “Upset? No, no! I am impressed!” …Im...pressed? What? Ezreal frowns, thoroughly confused and close to voicing said confusion when the larger male speaks up again, “Yes, impressed! You used the _one_ sound that could have saved you, the _one_ sound I have trained myself to never ignore, especially from a mate!”

A long pause, then Ezreal shifts a bit, “I…don’t exactly know what I did. I just wanted to sound in pain so maybe you would let me go.” He hears Vladimir walking up to join the two, to which he perks up a bit but dares not try and escape Dmitri’s hold on his shirt.

The eldest landlord’s eyes widen, then just like that he is back to normal, “Really now?! Even more impressive! You just let your voice choose the tone and it chose that of a distress call! I must say, little one, even if not entirely intended, the idea itself is admirable. You could not have hoped to overpower me, so tricking me was your only hope and you pulled it off flawlessly!” Dmitri releases the boy’s shirt and pats him on the back instead, which kind of hurts a little and Ezreal ends up nearly falling on his face, but thankfully no one else seems to notice that.

Ezreal grins, “Does that mean I can sit at the table?” now there’s a bit of pride he hasn’t seen in awhile. Much deserved, in his mind; he just tricked a who-knows-how-old vampire into releasing him without even knowing the proper sound to use. Dumb luck or skill, it doesn’t matter so long as he doesn’t have to do it again.

“No, that was cheating, so it doesn’t count.” Dmitri chimes, his grin widening at Ezreal’s frown and _almost_ baring of teeth. _What_? It _doesn’t count_? If it weren’t for the fact Dmitri would tear him apart in seconds he would jump that idiotic-- “I am joking, little one! Of course you may, just be sure you choose the right seat. Vladimir gets a bit hissy when other creatures get near his stuff.”

Oddly enough, Vladimir smiles in response to that; well, looks like he takes pride in his protection of property. Soon after that, Vladimir’s smile fades, “Good, your little match is done, so are we going to eat now or what? I have not eaten a thing all day…aside from a bit of our new mate’s blood, of course.” His grin returns and his words after the pause come out in a purr, to which Dmitri chuckles, leading the way back into their cabin, while Ezreal shifts uncomfortably.

The group returns inside, and thankfully the two landlords leave Ezreal out of their little discussion on the walk back. Almost immediately Vladimir had trotted up next to Dmitri and matched the leader’s pace then began striking up a conversation. Both creatures ended up muttering the whole way back, occasionally glancing back at the younger male trailing behind, but it is at such a low tone even Ezreal couldn’t manage to pick up what they are saying. Whatever it was, it certainly had something to do with him…the boy had gulped nervously, debating on if he should be glad he can’t hear his mates or terrified.

He settles with glad soon enough as the group reenters the cabin, deciding that even if he knew what they were whispering about, there isn’t much he could do. Ignorance certainly is bliss when it comes to this monstrous world.

Dmitri fixes little things here and there with the table while Vladimir takes his seat; Ezreal waits a few moments before doing so on the not-so-off chance that there is some penalty for sitting before one’s superiors. Why does nature have so many weird rules? After just a few seconds, he just chooses to sit down anyway; his mates likely won’t kill him over sitting down, really. Vladimir, head resting on his hand and with a very bored expression on his face, glances up but aside from that nothing else happens. Well, at least there’s no rules for sitting order, that’s a relief.

Shortly after, Dmitri decides the table is set enough, even if it honestly doesn’t look like he changed anything at all, and takes his seat at the end of the table next to both other creatures. Strangely, Ezreal and Vladimir are served first and served most the entire bowl, leaving Dmitri with a bit but not a lot to be honest. It takes but seconds to Ezreal to realize there _has_ to be a reason for that; the alpha is the main guardian and their largest weapon, meaning _technically_ he should be eating more than the others…Vladimir should be next in line for most amount of food, but he has just about the same as Ezreal.

Rather than begin eating right off the bat as Vladimir does, Ezreal sees it best to eat slowly and wait to see if there is anything that has to be done here. This makes no sense at all…Dmitri is generous, yes, but a creature of his size, even if just inches taller than Ezreal and a few more so shorter than Vladimir, that runs around or just walks around all day simply _can’t_ survive off that. It just…it makes no sense. Are different amounts served to different members during different times of the day, such as one gets more during dinner while another during lunch and so on? Does it depend on who hunts most? Who provides the food? There must be some sort of reason for it…

Soon enough Ezreal is all too grateful he decided to wait rather than scarf down his food as he intended to. Vladimir hastily devoured most of his while Dmitri actually puts in the effort to use forks and cut things-- anyway, once Vladimir is _mostly_ done, he stops. He simply stops eating and appears to measure up what he has left, then dumps the rest on Dmitri’s plate. Dmitri, funny enough, gives a light glare at Vladimir for doing so while he was cutting something, but it is merely teasing judging from Vladimir’s wide, taunting grin in reply. So _that’s_ why Dmitri didn’t take a lot…and yet, why not just save the hassle of having a subordinate eat then give stuff up?

Ezreal purses his lips, tuning out the chatter between Vladimir and Dmitri about hunting trips. Alright, so he knows he will need to give up some of his food, but how much? Does he just eat his fill then give up the rest? Hm…unlikely, he guesses, given Vladimir would have cleared his plate-- wait, but what if it’s only Vladimir that does that…? No, it’s probably both of them. He still doesn’t quite understand _why_. Is it to secure a bond? Just a thank you? Proof of submission, that they know their place? Show of loyalty? Maybe to prove if food is scarce they are willing to share? Ugh, now his head hurts…

Vladimir glances over, raising a brow, “Are you not hungry, my dear?” Dmitri blinks a few times as if confused, then turns toward Ezreal with a look of both worry and confusion. Vladimir shows sign of neither, his expression remains neutral, almost appearing agitated.

The boy shakes his head, “No, I’m just confused about something; I’ll eat…well, the stuff that isn’t human or vampire, anyway.”

Fangs again show in a ravenous grin from Vladimir, “I will happily eat what you do not want. And while we are on the topic of eating, I will need a drink later.” Ezreal almost asks why his largest mate decides to tell this to him, but it doesn’t take long for things to click as to why. Why did he have to offer his blood? Vladimir licks his lips, either due to remembering the taste or simply to unnerve the young creature, while Dmitri perks up a bit, clearly interested in doing the same. Ezreal shudders; why couldn’t he have skipped right to offering himself up to this monster?

And yet, Ezreal feels a part of him that is _eager_ to feed his mate, to have this beast’s teeth in his flesh and gulping down his blood by the mouthful. The boy shakes his head, discarding the thought from his mind as best he can; what is wrong with him? Why on this monstrous, cruel earth would he want his overly hostile mate to bite him _again_? This beast tore the back of his neck up the last time, bit the side of it, then decided to claim him rather roughly.

Alright, he just needs to start asking now, these questions are really starting to bog him down. “Okay, but I need answers to some things first. If you answer my questions, I have no problems with…” he sighs, “with letting you drink from me.”

Vladimir raises a brow, frowning slightly, “You know very well the deal you made with me, my dear, and though I cannot kill you I do have every right to show you where you stand in this house.” This clearly translates to: ‘if you don’t let me eat, I will tackle you to the ground and bite and hurt you until you beg for mercy.’ Which Vladimir likely wants to do anyway, given Dmitri has no doubt done the same to him many times over.

Dmitri shakes his head, “Calm down, my beloved, our little one does not intend to be rude, he simply wants answers. You would as well if you were thrown into a completely new environment with only two ‘monsters’ to guide and protect you.” Vladimir calms down, relaxing in his seat then nods and murmurs an apology. Dmitri smiles again, “Thank you,” he turns his attention back to Ezreal, “now, little one, what is it you are so perplexed about?”

Ezreal cautiously eyes Vladimir, whom so seems the slightest bit guilty about his little threat but he could be seeing things; Vladimir doesn’t seem the type for guilt. “I was wondering…” which question first, he is wondering a lot of things-- he starts, “oh! How does the whole food thing work?” Dmitri furrows his brow, confused. He must not understand given how normal it is to him; Ezreal shifts, then tries again, “I mean, how come you gave yourself a little bit of food, then Vladimir and I got quite a bit more? Then Vlad gives some to you, but…why not just take your share? How much is he supposed to give you or does he just do that?”

“Oh! That is right, humans do not have such customs! I am terribly sorry, I had completely forgotten that many humans have only a few strange rules to dining.” Dmitri grins, eagerly and very much willing to answer; in fact, he seems happy to be explaining these. It is almost as if he has done it long ago and it brings back some sort of memory. “It is simple, really: the head of a family, the alpha, leader, whatever you want to call it, serves his or her family with a large portion of the kill. Sometimes the family members eat their fill then give the rest, but more often than not it is a case of they eat a little over half their meal then give the rest to their superior. The logic behind that is less logic and more emotion; it helps the family bond, the leader showing that though he or she rules the family, he or she will give up most their food for the better of the family. The family giving up their food shows similar, that if food is scarce they will care for their leader.”

For some reason, Dmitri takes a long pause, seeming to loose focus in his vision for a moment as if recalling something. Vladimir snickers, a clear sign this happens rather often. Soon after, Dmitri shakes his head, “Apologies, I was trying to remember if I was missing anything else. Anyway, another common reason is it shows control over a clan. The leader gives a generous helping to its lessers, but expects some of that back. Occasionally, ones that do not give anything back are seen as insubordinate and are devoured themselves.” Ezreal pales, tempted to just push the whole plate to Dmitri but stopping short when the creature laughs, “Do not fret, little one, I do not run things so viciously. If I did so, my beloved Vladimir would have been consumed long ago.”

Ezreal turns curiously to Vladimir, whom so grunts. The boy looks back to Dmitri, “I’m _guessing_ he doesn’t exactly like being outranked.”

Dmitri clearly holds back a laugh, nodding, “That is an understatement. If I had but a mouse for every time I have been challenged by Vladimir or he has attempted to defy me, we would have enough to last a year.” Ezreal mouths a ‘wow’ while Vladimir shrugs-- his mood soon changes when Dmitri continues, “However, that was years ago. Now, Vladimir is more than willing to expose his belly, both figuratively and literally, and comply to my requests with little to no resistance. There are a few exceptions, but should I _command_ him, he will obey.”

Again the young male turns to Vladimir, whom so is now horribly red in the face and grumbling something Ezreal can’t quite make out. Softy indeed…wow. Dmitri smiles, petting Vladimir on the head a few times which surprisingly earns no reaction, “But this is because he knows better, to anyone else he naturally will disobey and try to prove himself better. I caution you, Ezreal, as he will without a doubt want to keep you firmly under him. Unless you feel you can defeat him, and even then I do not advise you try to do so, simply do what he wants and continue to show some respect to him and you will not be bothered. If he bugs you anyway, come to me and I will fix the issue.” Vladimir huffs, but is quite subdued in doing so. Dmitri’s threats are always so nicely packaged, aren’t they? “I also want to make clear that he will not always act so cruel, he is likely just adjusting. He will warm up to you in no time at all, little one.”

“I…uh, thanks?” Ezreal shifts; alright, now for his main question-- “Why do you two think I taste so good, anyway?” …That is not his main question.

Vladimir perks up at this, his grin returning in an instant, though it is Dmitri who answers, “You are a human changed to a vampire, so you have a strong human taste to you, little one. It is very rare to see turned humans this far out because they often fall prey before fully realizing how to survive.” Dmitri sighs sadly, more for lost prey than pity Ezreal is willing to bet, “They also occasionally try and return home, only to be slaughtered by their own for being a monster. Humans are so cruel!” The eldest creature shakes his head, “The point being, you are a rare breed, which is likely why Vladimir chose you and it is certainly why you taste so exquisite.”

He nods a few times, though he almost jumps a little in his seat upon realizing the entirety of what Dmitri just implied. “So basically, vampires aren’t usually made, they are born naturally?”

This time it is Vladimir who speaks up, baring his teeth in a grin, “Of course, why else would we have a mating season? Why else would we have so many instincts dedicated solely to attracting, claiming, protecting, and keeping a mate?” Vladimir’s grin turns to a smirk, clearly unnerving the young male and ever so likely intending to do so.

Ezreal averts his gaze, his face likely a bright red; alright, it’s time for his main question now, “I…I have to ask, why is it I am so heavily attracted to you, yet Dmitri has been nicer? Sure, I had a fondness for you when I first saw you last spring, but…but when we met yesterday I was terrified and somewhat agitated, but now I can’t stay mad even though you threatened me and I’m not afraid of you even though you’re much more aggressive than Dmitri.”

Vladimir again grins, but turns to Dmitri for the explanation; the elder male chuckles, “I was curious as to when you would ask this, little one. You know vampires are monogamous, and you know mating creates a bond, yes?” Ezreal nods, to which his mate continues, “This was your first mating season and clearly the first creature to actually mate with you, as you have quite solidly bonded to him, is Vladimir. It is a sort of…chemical thing, or instinct, or likely both, but the point is your first mate is the one you will love the most.” Ezreal nods, shifting under Vladimir’s gaze and keeping his eyes locked on Dmitri best he can. His older mate chuckles, “Myself and Vladimir had mates before each other, female of course, which were unfortunately killed in one way or another, so we are not as bonded as we could be and thus have no instinctual favorite. To answer your next question, yes, we still hold an amount of affection for our first mates, but no, we do not feel sorrow over it anymore. Past is past, and in the wilderness one expects to lose family and friends.”

The boy looks to his plate, unsure of how to reply, which reminds him he _still_ has to eat and-- which, though he doesn’t exactly mean to, he begins doing. Dmitri chuckles, turning back to his own food. Well, if he’s going to just start eating, he might as well try to think of more questions while these two are feeling generous with answers. How about…why he was chosen in the first place? True, Dmitri said it was because of his blood, but _why_ did the landlords go after another mate? They get along well, even if they rarely so much as sleep in the same cabin, and they have all the land they want; they could take more if so desired, but if they wanted help…well, Ezreal isn’t a good choice for a fighter.

Vampires don’t get too lonely either; okay, some do of course, but these two again have each other to keep company, so why add a stranger into the equation? He picks up another piece of his dinner and idly puts it in his mouth and chews; the landlords are too busy kissing for whatever reason anyway-- wait what. Ezreal glances up from his plate as subtly as he can manage, and indeed they are. Vladimir seems to be pushing Dmitri back in his seat, and the noises made are a bit…strange. Ezreal isn’t sure how to describe them other than he has never heard them before.

…Anyway, he turns his attention back to his food and tries his best to figure out what else he could possibly ask. He has just so many questions he can’t even manage to think of one to ask...well, the previous will have to do. Ezreal starts somewhat, the noise Vladimir makes when breaking the landlords’ kiss surprising him after near silence.

Vladimir wipes his mouth with his sleeve, something he never normally does after kissing, then grins at the disapproving sigh Dmitri gives at the action before licking his lips. Ezreal looks between the two, confused, but doesn’t feel like asking. Hey, it’s their business, not his. Vladimir looks to Ezreal, “So, since you are staring at us rather than eating, what other questions do you wish to throw at us before bedtime?”

Bedtime? Ezreal looks outside, and lo and behold it’s actually very dark out; how long have they been talking? Must be awhile given vampires stay up for several hours during the night. It doesn’t feel like very long at all though…oh well, he could use the sleep, he’s been exhausted all day anyway. Ezreal finally pushes his plate over to Dmitri as he speaks again, “I’m curious about why you decided to claim another mate in the first place…most vampires have one at a time, don’t they?”

Seeing as Dmitri makes no move to answer, Vladimir pipes up, “Dmitri wanted a pet, so I chose you.” Both are silent after this; Ezreal expects a bit more after this, but nothing more is said. The young creature frowns--

“Vladimir, my beloved, give a bit more of a story to it than just that! I am quite interested myself as to how this all transpired.” Dmitri sticks another chunk of food into his mouth after this, raising a brow at Vladimir’s heavy sigh. Ezreal, meanwhile, finds it strange to see a vampire using silverware. Dmitri looks the type, sure, but it’s still weird…and a bit unnerving.

Dmitri remains quiet after this and continues eating, to which Vladimir groans then takes this as a signal to answer, “My dear Dmitri had said many times he had wanted a pet, but bringing him something he would find interesting is difficult for obvious reasons.” Vladimir sends a light glare to Dmitri, whom so gives no reaction and continues cutting his dinner. The larger landlord shakes his head, “But I wanted to give him something as a gift, something more than just food and human luxuries. I eventually decided that maybe one of our own species would be a good gift. Dmitri has mentioned many times over how fascinated he is with how vampires grow and how they react to things around them…but, it is difficult to find ones that are not guarded by their parents. Because I didn’t feel like going out and looking for little baby vampires then killing its parents, I decided to wait around for first years and see if any parents would be dumb enough to take their small kids out for a thieving hunt.”

Ezreal blinks, “Why would they do that?”

Another shrug, “I don’t know, but it has happened before, so I was hoping it would happen again. Sadly it did not, but instead I found you, which is _much_ better than any baby. Your kind is rare, meaning I knew for sure Dmitri has never had the chance to study one of your kind as he would have sooner devoured it.” Ezreal pales, shifting in his seat and casting a nervous glance to a smiling Dmitri, whom so has stopped eating by now. Vladimir snickers, clearly much happier about having to tell this tale, “Mhm, as my dear Dmitri said before, your kind taste better than anything else in these woods. I would say you even top humans in terms of taste, but that is possibly just me.” Vladimir licks his lips before continuing, “But back to the story, I wanted to catch you sooner, but you are an evasive little runt and would not stay down, even when I drained you near dry. Then, I heard Dmitri had caught you and stashed you in his little basement of horrors, so I gave up looking for you awhile.”

The other landlord smiles, “Ah, yes, and it was you who gave me the idea to get a nice large, sturdy door, rather than the flimsy oak one you destroyed, and lock it up. I thank you for that, by the way, I had no previous drive to fix that issue until I lost such valuable prey. Since then, not one creature has escaped.” Ezreal swallows, twitching somewhat; now he feels guilty for saving his own life, yet dooming countless more to an excruciating fate.

“Don’t mention it…” is all the young male can manage in response, to which Dmitri laughs cheerfully. Ezreal shudders; really, how creepily joyful can one monster be? “Anyway, you were saying, Vlad?”

Vladimir chuckles, “Yes, yes, I was saying that sometime later when Dmitri and I next spoke, he was rather upset about having lost you, so I started searching again. Soon enough I found you a few more times, but each and every time you would hear me coming or escape from under me. I am still _furious_ ,” Ezreal shudders; the growl Vladimir uses to emphasize is not angry, but… _suggestive_ is the best word to describe it, the beast’s grin to go with this does not help, “you managed to evade me so many times, but catching you for my dear Dmitri is well worth it.”

Unexpectedly, yet Ezreal should somewhat expect some of these things by now, Dmitri appears quite flattered. Vladimir grins proudly, sitting up a bit in his seat, “Later I caught you, and I decided that instead of _just_ a pet, why not make you mine? You are simply one of the cutest vampires I have ever laid eyes on, and you are oh so submissive despite how tough you act at times.” Ezreal sputters, attempting to get a sentence together in order to defend himself, but he comes up empty. Vladimir laughs, an amused yet taunting sound, “I planned to present you to Dmitri myself, however I did not plan on getting little to no sleep that night then becoming angry with you…but, I knew you would be fine. I knew claiming you would no doubt trigger Dmitri to do the same, seeing as claiming mates is a highly competitive game and the scent will sometimes deter others and sometimes trigger that creature to do the same--”

“I am quite sure it has to do with successfulness in one’s existence; a well fed and powerful creature has a large chance of being allured rather than deterred from a mark than a first year, whom will almost always run.” Dmitri cheerily explains, cutting in on the previous tale, which Ezreal is a bit saddened by as he was sort of curious, but not much else could be said he would guess. Vladimir, however, seems grateful rather than annoyed by his story being interrupted. “I of course do not know this for certain, but I am quite sure this is how it works. It could possibly be linked to how close the creatures are to each other’s scent, but I doubt this given how myself and Vladimir still end up tearing each other apart during spring.”

Ezreal frowns out of sheer confusion; what? “Didn’t you say you can control your instincts pretty well…?”

Dmitri nods, “To an extent, but some are stronger than others. Rivalry between creatures of the same gender is usually a common theme, however exceptions can obviously be made, but during breeding season that rivalry turns to outright bloodlust. Males, or females in some creature’s cases, compete for mates and will often kill each other over even just one of the opposite gender.” Ezreal nods; this would explain why they don’t sleep near each other during warmer months-- “Myself and Vladimir are no different, and we both fight unless we stay far enough away. There are a few times where this fury can turn to overwhelming lust, such as when situated correctly over an opponent or when reproductive organs are touched correctly by accident or even just at random when seeing each other, but this is not as common as one would like.”

The young male nods, though hesitantly, “Does that mean I’ll have to stay clear of you two during spring?”

Surprisingly, Dmitri shrugs, “I am unsure. Your scent is male, but you look quite feminine, and sight is commonly used during spring given how potent the scent of flowers, other creatures, and prey is. Chances are, you will be fine and will in fact very likely be fiercely protected by one of us!” Ezreal opens his mouth to question, but Dmitri is already on an answer, “I say one because both of us will no doubt fight over you, resulting in only one victor, whom will…well, I think you know what happens by now.”

Ezreal whines, shuddering again, though be it fear or otherwise he is unsure, “Could I avoid you guys and skip all of that? I know first hand how vampires… _mate_ and I _really_ don’t want to see that turned up five notches during spring.”

Vladimir again laughs, though much louder and purely amused this time, “Yeah, good luck with that! Chances are you will _want_ us to fight for you and you will _want_ us to take you. In fact, because Dmitri will no doubt win the battle, you will probably seek me out while Dmitri sleeps and, due to that potent mark _all_ over you, I will be driven to do the very same thing your protector is sleeping off.” Vladimir’s grin widens at Ezreal’s protests, but he ignores these, “Once I am exhausted and down for the count, you will likely spend a little time with me before heading back and ensuring you’re all nice and clean for Dmitri to protect for awhile. He will feed you, house you, and make sure you are all nice and happy, then eventually mate with you again and thus end up repeating the cycle.”

The boy shakes his head, huffing to try and ignore his heated face, “Can we just change the topic now, I don’t want to hear about mating habits after having been on the receiving end of several of them.” Mostly it is that he _refuses_ to think any instinct could possibly drive him to act so… _uncivilized_. He can see those two beasts fighting over him, Dmitri likely winning, but he can _not_ see himself _wanting_ to be kept like livestock for breeding, and sneaking off to have the same happen with yet another male. Just…it will _not_ happen.

His first mate’s laughter dies down to a few low chuckles, “What _do_ you want to talk about, then, my dear?”

…He hadn’t actually expected either landlord to listen, much less Vladimir, so Ezreal is left gaping a few times like a fish out of water and struggles to get some sort of topic. Preferably one that isn’t so easily turned toward the whole mating thing. After several attempts to get a word out, the boy simply sighs-- actually, that’s more of a yawn. Vladimir perks up, soon interrupting the boy’s clear attempt to speak, “Bedtime it is!” the large male turns to Dmitri, “You do not like me putting dishes away, so I will show our newest mate the bedroom, if you do not mind.”

Dmitri nods, immediately standing then picking up everyone’s dishes and utensils, “Wonderful idea! You two could use the time to patch things over from this morning and bond a little more, just let me know later how he reacts!” With that, Dmitri leaves and begins washing dishes, judging from the sound of running water…wait, how _do_ they have running water?

“How is there running water here?” Ezreal immediately asks, getting up from his seat then pushing his chair back in, “We must be hundreds of miles from the nearest town or city.” Is it somehow connected to a nearer town? Some system involving an underwater well? Maybe the river?

Vladimir walks around the table, urging Ezreal to continue to the stairway. The boy stubbornly crosses his arms and stays put, annoyed by the lack of an answer; if he can’t be given a simple answer then-- he needs to just move from now on. Vladimir, being the anger-prone creature he is, soon becomes impatient and simply picks the younger male up once again. It isn’t an aggressive act, but even so Ezreal squirms until soon enough deciding it just isn’t worth a fight…besides, he feels nice and warm here. And safe, very safe despite the fanged grin near his face and claws at his leg and shoulder.

Ezreal huffs, “I _can_ walk, you know, I just want an answer to my question.” Strange…he isn’t at all afraid of Vladimir, that much is obvious in his ease in snippy replies and refusals to follow orders. Well, not orders exactly, but blatant hints that might as well be orders with Vladimir.

His mate continues carrying him, seeming to ignore the young male until finally replying as Vladimir ascends the stairway, “I knew you were a pain, just not around Dmitri, I see.” That fanged grin never fades, which is to be expected from Dmitri, not Vladimir…to be honest, it unnerves Ezreal more than if Vladimir were being openly hostile. “Clever to a point, or you simply feel _very_ comfortable with me. That is it, isn’t it?”

The boy frowns, but instead of his intended snippy reply, he immediately answers, “Yes, even if I still don’t understand how the whole thing could possibly change my attitude so much toward someone like you.” Ezreal blinks, then sighs; he just…doesn’t feel angry, even if he thinks he should. On the up side, at least he won’t be completely furious with every word Vladimir says.

This cabin, even if Ezreal has not seen much of it yet, is known to be massive. He decides to just look at what he can from his mate’s arms and memorize anything he possibly can. Before they started up the strange, circular, spirally staircase, he had seen a good few halls and rooms leading who knows where. As Vladimir carries him up, there are a few hints that this staircase wasn’t always made like this. For one, it just looks a bit strange near where the stairway begins. There are a few doors and such in the walls like the rest of the area, but those doors vary slightly in design from the other doors in the house. Plus, the flooring looks _slightly_ off, one would not notice these if it weren’t for the fact Ezreal sort of suspected this staircase is added in, not naturally in some random cabin in the woods.. To top this all off, there is at least one or two floors more than just the first and second, but the stairway doesn’t branch off. The only way Ezreal knows to get to these is by climbing the stair rail then jumping through the doorway. This is probably to make sneaking around less easy…but this is all still very strange. This definitely isn’t a naturally found hunting cabin.

Hunting cabins are not usually luxurious, they simply aren’t. They are temporary homes and are thus simple in design, and this _used_ to be a hunting cabin, that much is clear from the general design. Now, it is _massive_ , which shouldn’t surprise Ezreal given how long these landlords have likely lived here. Such a small cabin as a permanent residence for a creature such as Dmitri or Vladimir? Not going to happen. It is clear they either did _a lot_ of work on this place themselves or hired, then likely killed, some workers. Knowing Dmitri, he probably did this himself just out of curiosity as to if he could. Ezreal will admit, it looks very nice.

The first floor set aside for now, Vladimir turns right once at the top of the stairs then heads down a ways, only stopping at the end of the hall to shift Ezreal about in his grasp to be held by only one arm. It is strange, being carried and moved about so easily by a man that doesn’t exactly look overly powerful...even if he did, it would be strange. But, again, he finds himself enjoying their closeness despite the fact Ezreal feels he should be more cautious around Vladimir.

His mate swings the thick, wooden door open then closes it behind him. Vladimir bounces Ezreal once on his arm, like one would a small child to make said child happy or to get its attention, “Welcome to your new bedroom, my dear.” Oh, and what a room it is.

More of a master bedroom than _just_ a bedroom, this part of the house _must_ have been made as well. It is clear that the bedroom has been remodeled a few times, a few walls between rooms torn down to make this one bigger, then walls placed so only one door leads in, not many. There is a door to what Ezreal assumes is a closet, then there is one other that he can see leads to a bathroom, which also looks pretty large what little he can make out from this angle. Maybe it’s because he hasn’t been in a home in awhile, but this room…it just seems so large.

General layout aside, the décor here is, as to be expected, also very nice. In the center of the ceiling hangs a lone, lit chandelier that looks to be quite old. It is beautiful, but in a creepy sort of way. It isn’t overly decorated, it is simply metal and candles surrounding the center…it’s stunning, despite its simplicity.

On the walls, there is nothing much at all aside from a few candle holders, which is surprising as every other room so far has had some sort of decoration on the wall. There are two little candle holders over the bed, likely for decoration only given that the chandelier above gives plenty of light. There are two small tables next to the bed as well, but…aside from the bed and those small tables, there isn’t anything else he can see. The clothes and drawers must be in the closet.

Lastly, the bed of course is larger than Ezreal has seen in a long time, taking up quite a bit of the back wall. Which tells him maybe this room isn’t as big as he had thought…anyway, it easily could hold three or four creatures assuming they were vampire sized. The bed’s colors are nice as well, the color pallet itself likely chosen by both creatures as it is red and black entirely. The comforter is as well as pillows are black as a starless, moonless night, while the sheets and smaller blankets are the most beautiful crimson Ezreal has seen. They look smooth, thick, soft…it’s been so long since he’s slept on anything but the ground, so again this could simply be him. He doubts it, however.

Vladimir remains silent, though his pride is clear in his stance and grin. He finally decides to set Ezreal down on the wooden floor below, which draws the boy’s attention to a large, decorative mat in the center of the room in front of the bed. The mat’s primary color is, unsurprisingly, red, but it is mixed with a few others to make quite the appealing design.

Ezreal shifts in place a few times, which causes the floor to creak a bit, to test the ground beneath him out of habit; he is just too used to pitfall and other kinds of traps in places unfamiliar to him. After that, he curiously wanders to the bathroom, Vladimir trailing a few feet behind to observe his reactions as requested by Dmitri. That and, since Vladimir’s return, when not distracted by his older mate he is right near Ezreal. This is the behavior he is used to seeing in vampire pairs…yet again, rather than agitated, the young male is rather flattered by the idea.

The first thing he notices in the bathroom is the wonderful smell; the candles in there are scented, plus there are fragrant soaps on the side of the bathtub. _A bathtub_. Ezreal hasn’t seen one in _far_ too long. Oh, he’ll be eager to try that out first thing tomorrow, if so allowed. Another thing he sees is a sink and toilet, which is also _very_ nice; no more doing his business in a deep hole, burying it, and then hoping nothing finds that and tracks his scent.

Back to the bathtub, because that is what he is most excited about, it’s a big tub, and roundish. He would call it more of a small pond than a tub…Dmitri likes having things bigger than necessary, doesn’t he? Anyway, he doesn’t remember ever seeing roundish bathtubs, but here one is, perfectly set in the corner and connected to the surrounding wall in said corner, the non-walled parts having a curtain to keep water from getting on the floor. Speaking of what showers would end up doing, it even has a slightly larger shower head than normal to make sure it still reaches a fair amount of the tub with water. Ezreal grins eagerly; oh yes, he will _definitely_ be trying this later.

He starts at the sound of Vladimir’s voice, “You like it? It is quite a nice bathing place compared to most. Dmitri insisted on it because, for some reason or another, he _adores_ warm water and bathing with others, hence the size of that thing.” Ezreal turns around, confused as to why, and _how_ seeing as he doesn’t remember seeing these two near each other very often. Then again, he didn’t dare tread very close to their cabins. Vladimir chuckles, “Dmitri enjoys showing his affections to those close to him, possibly to ensure they feel less threatened by him. For a vampire, he is _extremely_ social, which is another reason I decided to get another mate rather than just a pet.” The larger creature circles Ezreal once, looking him over then returning to his place from before, “You are unused to contact due to your time alone, but I am sure Dmitri and you will get along just fine once you, you know, stop freaking out near him. Better be quick, too, because tomorrow he will no doubt want to bathe you properly.”

A shudder; properly meaning shampoo, soap, and water before that beast’s tongue…probably Vladimir’s as well. Ezreal shakes his head at the thought, “I can’t help it, I just don’t feel entirely comfortable around him…” Which is more truth than he really wanted to share, but oh well. Vladimir doesn’t mock him or even laugh, he simply nods understandingly. Ezreal looks down and fiddles with his hands a bit, noting the nice tile floor. Dmitri he…he just doesn’t give off a good vibe despite that friendly smile and his generous and kind demeanor. The elder landlord just gives Ezreal a feeling that he only ever feels from predators, such as vicious werewolves, cunning hydras, or other older, larger vampires. The difference is, those are openly hostile, much like Vladimir usually seems to be, while Dmitri has been nothing but kind. He just…doesn’t understand it.

“…Anyway,” Ezreal begins, deciding to sort of avoid that topic for now, “how do you get water here? Especially warm water.”

Vladimir, surprisingly, pats the young creature on the head a few times, “Do not worry about it, Dmitri has a habit of unnerving just about everyone he gets near, it is not just you.” Ezreal looks up to his mate, again not expecting to see said mate smiling kindly rather than proudly or baring his teeth. Does Vladimir feel the same about Dmitri then? “As for the whole water thing, the guy who had this cabin originally made some sort of pipe system and some huge vat to heat water in. There’s a drainage system too, which surprisingly goes a ways downstream and that stuff eventually ends up in the ocean.” An ocean? Oh, that sounds interesting-- “Somewhat impressive for a stupid human, plus it saved us the time of planning that out. Instead, we just had to make sure the pipes were okay and the heater and drainage system worked.”

Ezreal nods along, his glancing around the room also showing a few toothbrushes, likely more given how much these creatures seem to hoard human items, toothpaste, a mirror, and a little cabinet area below the sink. Vladimir notes the wandering gaze and again utters a low laugh, “You are a curious little creature, my dear.” He pauses a moment, humming then nodding, “Also, you will need some new clothes, the ones you have now are vile. We will need to get a few clothes your size, but for now Dmitri’s should be close enough.” Vladimir turns and leaves for what Ezreal assumes to be the closet, the young male following after a few moments.

New clothes, too? This is _wonderful_ ; he has had these same clothes for so long…they are torn, they stink, they are running thin in places, and they are just all around not good. His jacket is alright, but even that is wearing out and of course has a good few tears. Ezreal slips into the closet shortly after Vladimir opens the door, curiously sniffing the air and then looking around.

Again, this room is decent in size and of course holds _a lot_ of clothes. Many look a lot like what both landlords are wearing now, some bear no resemblance, some are altered in color or slightly in size, and others are just sort of there he guesses. Vladimir naturally knows his way around and immediately starts shifting through a few dresser drawers; he _knew_ there would be some of those somewhere.

“Where did you get all of these?” Ezreal curiously asks, his voice baring no aggravation or fear for the first time in a long time; just wonder and curiosity.

And then a shirt smacks him in the face followed by boxers then pants, “These should work. It is one of my shirts, but it will work perfectly as a nightgown for you until we get you some of your own.” Ezreal takes the clothing off his face, frowning at the other for but a moment; he is more happy to be changing out of his crummy clothes than angry for clothing being tossed at him. Vladimir grins, “The pants and underclothing are Dmitri’s because you are too petite for any of mine.” Rather than leaving the room for Ezreal to change, Vladimir just continues with the boy’s answer, “As for where those come from, most are stolen, but Dmitri also likes to make special clothes from time to time. Such as what I am wearing now, you likely would not see anything close in stores, which is a pity, it is a really nice design.” Vladimir tugs at his coat’s cuff, then begins undoing the button things before shedding the clothing item completely.

Ezreal shifts, “I’ll, uh, go change in the bathroom and leave you to it, then.” He should have expected to be tugged back when turning to leave, then forced to look back around at the one whom so grabbed his scruff.

Vladimir raises a brow, smirking once again, “And why would you do that? Just change here and I will take your clothes to be tossed. I would try washing them with soap, but they really are just too far gone.” He releases Ezreal then begins on taking off his own shirt, tossing both coat and shirt into the corner once done before moving to his belt. “Go on, it is not as if I have not already seen you without your clothes on.”

The boy sighs, but gives in and starts taking his coat off, then his shirt. By the time he is working on his belt, Vladimir has pulled up the bottom of his nightgown, a dark crimson color much like the sheets, and decides to help out with the belt despite Ezreal whining to stop. Well, he isn’t whining so much as…okay, no, he is whining. He doesn’t mean to, but he does. Vladimir pulls down any remaining clothing, to which Ezreal hurries to get the borrowed oversized shirt over his head. As expected, the shirt dips down to his knees.

His mate pouts a little, crouching over to look Ezreal in the eyes, “Aw, I like how you look without clothing, my dear.”

“I prefer clothing on, especially with you around.” Is the boy’s simple reply as he swiftly slips his temporary boxers and pants on. The pants and shirt, of course, swim heavily on him, but they are really comfortable and smell wonderful compared to his old clothes. He is really starting to enjoy Vladimir’s scent on him…he shakes his head, looking over to his mate in time to see the other poking his head through his shirt then getting the sleeves worked out.

After this, Vladimir picks up the boy’s clothes then begins the teasing on how Ezreal is so ‘squeamish’ about changing near his own mate. Then there are mentions of how good the scars look on him, then a few comments on how small his fangs are when Vladimir insists on brushing the young male’s teeth for him. Ezreal finds himself liking the attention, which would surprise him but…he should really just accept that anything weird he can, or can’t, think of will happen. Even when it comes to his own feelings toward others.

Because Vladimir insisted on brushing his teeth, Ezreal makes it clear he wants to do the same in return, for whatever reason. Vladimir is very accepting if not eager to open his maw and sit down on the toilet’s lid and allow Ezreal to do just that. Chances are, the prideful beast just wants to show off his fangs, which Ezreal knows enough of vampires by now to know it is another attempt at impressing the young male, the other recent ones being showing himself off and giving a small tour of his nest. This attempt, as with the others, regrettably does stir a bit of attraction in Ezreal. This creature’s teeth are actually very well kept, even on human standards, and his fangs…those are quite large in comparison to Ezreal’s and much more classically pointed.

Once all that is done and over with, they exit the bathroom and right away Vladimir hops up onto his bed. Ezreal waits, cautious of any possible rules, but is relieved to know for sure there are none so far when his mate beckons him over. He hops up as well, somewhat startled by the squishy feeling after being so used to jumping on rocks and trees, not onto beds. Vladimir chuckles, patting the spot next to him, which Ezreal takes without question or complaint.

Vladimir leans back lazily, propped up by the pitch black pillows, “So, my dear, how do you like your new room?” Yet another courting move; the male confirming the female approves of his nest, so far in this case. This is the part where she would either approve and _possibly_ allow him to mate with her, or dislikes it and leaves…or, she could like the nest but not the male and attack, but that’s not the point.

Ezreal looks to the ceiling from his lying position at Vladimir’s side and nods, hoping this beast doesn’t see his blush, “Yeah, it’s really nice. I don’t even think I’ve been in a place this nice as a human…I never thought I would as a monster.” Vladimir grins proudly, but remains silent. His mate does nuzzle his hair, use the closest arm to Ezreal to hold him closer, then kiss the younger male, but Vladimir doesn’t speak. Well, another chance to ask something that has been nagging at him since his mate took him up here, “Vlad?” A curious hum sounds from the other male, which is good enough to continue, “Why is it now you are acting nice again, but before with Dmitri you were a bit…harsher. Especially about the drinking thing.”

His mate sighs quietly, “I dislike appearing weak near Dmitri, and coddling you as I do now is as pathetic as one can be. Even before I was being soft toward you in comparison to how I treat others.” Vladimir glances to him, to which Ezreal nods; he doesn’t understand how that works but in a way he can. Yet, Dmitri has said that Vladimir is kind to _him_ …hm…

“How is it any different from cuddling up against Dmitri? I don’t think he will think any less of you for doing the same with me.” Vladimir raises a brow, probably wondering when he had heard this, to which Ezreal pulls a slight smile, “Besides, I don’t feel like messing with any chain of command thing, so I’m fine with my current position. I won’t be trying to outrank you, Vlad, so I doubt Dmitri will demote you or whatever just for being nice to your mate.” Thankfully, Vlad nods, seeming to agree. Hopefully that is the case. “Actually, I think he might like you a bit more for it. He looks like the type to want to see his mates happy, not squabbling amongst themselves or trying to outdo each other.”

Again Vladimir nods, “You do have a point…” Ezreal sighs in relief; so this beast can be reasonable when given a proper argument-- “and you have also reminded me that I forgot about my drink.” Wait what-- Vladimir’s fangs are bared once more and Ezreal finds himself pinned within seconds by a heavily amused landlord.

The younger male yelps, squirms, then begins to calm himself; in fact, he again feels… _eager_ to offer himself up. Ezreal hears Vladimir purr, then immediately feels a bite to the neck. No wait for compliance and an offer, just a bite right when the large creature feels like it. Rather than yell or attempt to escape, for some reason Ezreal just winces then purrs in return, hugging his ‘attacker’ best he can and _enjoying_ not only the feel of his mate essentially _eating_ him, but being under his large companion. It feels safe despite the teeth dug into his neck, and those content noises from Vladimir probably help keep him calm.

Strangely, this whole thing makes Ezreal feel as if he is actually contributing something here. Well, obviously there’s the blood thing but not that; it’s emotional stuff he is thinking of. Vladimir is happy, certainly well fed once again, and not being hostile toward him at all even if Ezreal has those large fangs and other teeth in his neck. There’s no anger here, just…contentment. Even Ezreal feels completely at ease, even cheery. Why he does, he really has no idea.

Soon enough, Vladimir releases him and licks the wound shut-- which immediately reminds him of his next question, but he is too busy being kissed _and fed a mouthful of his own blood_ to ask. Ezreal starts and tries once to back away, but he is easily held in place until Vladimir decides to stop sitting on his waist and wipe his own mouth with his sleeve as before-- wait is that what Vladimir did with Dmitri during dinner? Ezreal doesn’t think into this as soon after sitting up, his mate purrs, though it turns to a low, slightly threatening growl when the large creature begins rubbing up against him. Ezreal shudders, but he isn’t scared so much as slightly exhilarated; the beast above him isn’t being threatening, just…friendly. Vladimir isn’t trying to bite again or mark him or mate with him, he is just resting on top of the boy and rubbing his head against Ezreal’s while uttering those purrs and growls. The boy truly feels as if he has this large monster as a companion but also as a protector, and he would be lying if he said he isn’t the slightest bit proud of it.

Ezreal licks his lips to get the remaining blood off him from that kiss, even if it is his own blood...which he is sad to admit _does_ taste really good, then returns the affectionate gestures from Vladimir. His partner is clearly pleased and licks the young male’s lips as a sort of ‘thank you,’ and possibly to get more blood off them, then returns to what he had been doing before. Ezreal squirms a bit, out of habit rather than unease, halting his own actions simply because he enjoys Vladimir nuzzling and rubbing against him far too much.

This likely lasts for awhile, and when Vladimir stops he gives the young creature a kiss, this time without the whole blood thing, before releasing his ‘captive’ and returning to his previous lying position. Ezreal immediately returns to snuggling up against his mate’s side, purring quietly as he hugs Vladimir’s middle and uses the beast’s chest and side as a pillow of sorts. He really is affectionate toward this creature…this creature whom so has tried to devour him entirely and just drank from him moments ago. What is wrong with him?

He clears his throat awkwardly, earning a chuckle from Vladimir, “So, uh, I have two more questions.” His mate again just laughs, but nods as an okay to continue. “For one, how does licking a wound heal it when a vampire’s saliva causes _more_ bleeding because of the whole anticoagu…stuff. Also, you licked me then right away managed to… _eugh_ …feed me my own blood. How did you do that? You couldn’t have done that with blood in your mouth.”

Vladimir nods, “You are quite perceptive for such a young thing, I will give you that. To answer the questions, a vampire’s saliva does contain anticoagulants, _but_ our venom has some sort of mixture in it that speeds up healing. I don’t know what is in it, but Dmitri probably would. Anyway, vampires need to be able to inject venom then seal the wound as it takes a _ridiculous_ amount of venom to change a human into one of us, plus they need to drink some vampire’s blood, which is often injected as well simply by biting your tongue then putting that in the wound.” Ezreal shudders, but nods; makes sense. If the human bled out the venom and vampire blood, how else would they be changed? Plus there’s the whole sneaky feeding stuff but that’s not as important.

“Makes sense…so I guess a little venom to the wound won’t hurt us, right?” His mate shakes his head, to which Ezreal sighs in relief, even if by now he should know it won’t do a thing to him. How many wounds has he had healed today? A lot. How many fits of pain and paralysis? None. “How about the blood feeding thing?”

This earns a grin, “That is easy enough to do, you just need to know which stomach muscles to use.” Ezreal frowns, unsure of what that has to…wait. Vladimir immediately busts out laughing at Ezreal’s disgusted expression and shaking of his head as if to try and rid himself of the thought, “Humans really are strange if they think something as simple as _that_ is sickening! This is basic stuff!”

Ezreal opens his mouth to make some sort of comment about that being _revolting_ at _least_ , but the bedroom door opens and Dmitri enters then shuts the door behind him in a few quick movements. Ezreal shifts uncomfortably and feels himself gripping a bit tighter to Vladimir, whom glances down with an amused spark to his eyes, even if both males including himself greet Dmitri with a smile and ‘hello.’

Dmitri smiles back, his voice as cheery as ever, “Good to see you two are getting along better! I was afraid I might come back to Vladimir sticking his head in your chest cavity in an attempt to devour your viscera.” Ezreal swallows dryly, eyes darting from Vladimir back to Dmitri. The elder creature slaps his hands together in a single clap, “But this is not the case! Thank you so much, Vladimir my beloved, for being so very kind to our little mate!” He immediately walks over to the bed, hops up next to his initial mate, then gives a quick kiss to Vladimir; though he breaks their kiss quickly, he keeps his head close as he speaks again in almost a whisper, “Continue your kind behavior, my beloved, and you will receive kindness in return. Should you turn violent again, however, you will receive violence.”

Vladimir is completely unfazed by the threat, “Relax, Dmitri, I care for him just as much as you, I will not harm him…much.” Dmitri frowns, though only somewhat, while Vladimir laughs, “Fear not, he will be just fine. I simply got him some nice clothes, brushed his teeth, drank from him, fed him, and spent some time with him.”

The elder landlord looks to Ezreal, likely to ensure the truth is being told. The boy starts at the sudden glance his way, but nods, “He didn’t hurt me aside from the bite, but it wasn’t too painful.”

And there’s that smile only Dmitri can pull, looking so kind yet frightening at the same time, “Ah, good, good!” He pauses, his smile turning to a grin as he suddenly, and with seemingly little effort, hops over both younger males and lands _right_ at Ezreal’s side, startling the boy to the point said boy almost runs off. Instead, he merely clings to Vladimir and keeps his eyes involuntarily locked on his second mate. Dmitri smoothes Ezreal’s hair, hushing him, “Shh, shh, it is alright, little one. Before I brush my teeth, I want a quick drink from you. That is all! No ripping, tearing, or killing, just a little drink.”

Ezreal fidgets anxiously, “I…didn’t I win that wrestling thing?”

A nod, “Yes, you did, and you will get your drink for breakfast tomorrow, I promise you! However, right now I still wish to have something nice to drink before bed.” And there’s that low purr again as Dmitri moves the boy away from Vladimir a bit, just enough to enable the slightly larger male to straddle Ezreal’s waist. There is little resistance in being pulled from Vladimir, though Ezreal does tense up quite a bit as he feels the landlord sit on his lower body. Dmitri leans forward, to which the younger creature shrinks back a bit and whines, “Calm yourself, little one, I will not harm you. Shhh, you are okay, my little one.” His tone is comforting, a low yet somewhat merry sound as he again strokes Ezreal’s hair.

Vladimir chuckles, not the least bit worried or bothered by Dmitri’s behavior, “You have your work cut out for you here, Dmitri. While I had no idea he would be so afraid of you, I will admit it will be very interesting to see how you win our little mate over.”

Dmitri again nods a few times and sighs, “It will take some time, that is for sure.” He again leans down, purring a small amount in a likely attempt to calm Ezreal down. It does work to an extent, as the smaller creature does feel himself relaxing enough to cooperate. Ezreal tilts his head to better expose his neck, which he is thanked for by the one straddling him. He _does_ want to be comfortable around Dmitri, he truly does. It would be nice to be as close to the elder landlord as he is with Vladimir, but…it will probably be awhile before that happens. He can’t seem to calm himself with--

Shortly after tilting his head, Ezreal feels Dmitri’s teeth sink into his neck, right on the side marked by this landlord earlier in the day. So far it looks like these two only sink their fangs into the side they mark. He flinches and bites back a whine, instead deciding to warily hug-- well, technically _cling_ to, the creature above him as best he can from this angle. He needs to get used to Dmitri, he _has_ to at some point seeing as he will be living with this beast for as long as he can survive. Not only this, but it just feels more comfortable when compared to having his arms stiff at his sides.

The creature above him swallows a good few mouthfuls of crimson then seals the wound, which Ezreal knows now must be done by putting some venom on the tongue then licking the wound. It isn’t a difficult feat considering that stuff tends to drip when hungry due to the excess stuff being produced. Soon after this Dmitri sits up, causing Ezreal to release the other from his sort of hug, and licks his lips a few times before his grin returns, “Good boy, little one!” the elder landlord again combs his claws through Ezreal’s hair in an attempted soothing motion, though it doesn’t get a petrified response it does manage to earn some uneasy fidgeting from Ezreal. Dmitri’s smile widens slightly, “See, you are already getting better! Just think about earlier today, you did not appear to fear me as much then.”

He didn’t know how truly terrifying Dmitri is then, either. He isn’t sure how, maybe it’s the sheer amount of time he has been near the landlord, but his body simply wants him to run. This beast is a predator to him, and Ezreal knows from experience that his instincts know this all too well. He has been near other vampires, some werewolves, and even some hydra-like creature and each time he would get the same, horrible feeling in his gut screaming at him to find somewhere to hide. That said, if it weren’t for that biological mood changer that mating with him pulled off, Ezreal would be just as afraid of Vladimir, if not more so.

Ezreal starts, tensing upon feeling Dmitri gently nuzzling the corner of his jaw. Once fully realizing what is going on, the boy holds back a sigh of relief and relaxes, returning the same gesture to Dmitri the moment the landlord lifts his head enough. See? He can be brave and rub up against some extremely powerful beast that would love nothing more than to devour him slowly, painfully and without remorse in doing so-- okay that isn’t helping. Dmitri is unaware of these thoughts of course, so the affectionate gestures get another purr and more nuzzling out of his second mate and an amused chuckle from his first for whatever reason.

Vladimir leans back, stretches, and yawns, “Dmitri, if you get ready for bed first you may play with him all you want.” For some reason, Ezreal assumes this would be seen as offensive, ordering the alpha that is, but Dmitri doesn’t bat an eye if it is. In fact, the other stops his loving actions and sits up.

“Ah, you are correct! I apologize, you know how I am with new playthings.” Ezreal blinks a few times, unsure if he should be offended or…or he isn’t sure, really. Dmitri smiles kindly, gives him a quick kiss, then backs off of him then off the bed altogether, “I won’t be long.”

Once Dmitri disappears into the bathroom and the door clicks shut, Vladimir lets out a low laugh, “He will probably be awhile. Even if he is truly very excited about having a new toy, which he is, I cannot see him cutting down his bathing time.” As if on cue, the loud roar of water hitting the tub’s floor sounds. Vladimir smiles, his teeth barely visible from behind his lips, “Like I said. He likely wants some company,” the creature glances to Ezreal, whom so shakes his head rapidly, “but he will no doubt take another bath-shower mix in the morning and night tomorrow, so one time won’t hurt him…or a few minutes.”

Ezreal shuffles away, “No thanks, I’m good right here--”

Another laugh, “Oh, no, my dear, I did not mean you. I will spend a few more minutes with you, then join up with Dmitri.” Vladimir tilts his head as if listening for something; all Ezreal hears is the shower starting up and water hitting water. Well, Vladimir did say a shower-bath thing. The creature next to him leans over to whisper in his ear, “I do, however, expect you to join us tomorrow. Dmitri wants nothing more than for you to like him, to be able to relax around him and willingly talk and, as you put it earlier, snuggle up next to him. He wants to be able to show you his affections without you flinching away from him or cowering at his touch. He is tough, do not get me wrong, but he is sensitive at the same time when it comes to those he loves and I do not want you to hurt him, as impossible as it might seem to you.”

He…never actually thought of it that way. Dmitri seems so happy all the time, minus a few angry outbursts, so the boy never even considered that beast _could_ be sad. Ever. He has never heard of it and never seen it, so by all accounts he just never even considered it. But…Vladimir knows Dmitri, so if he says it can happen, it can happen. Making anyone upset is simply not in the young creature’s nature. Ezreal nods, though still very reluctantly, and replies in a whisper, “I’ll try. He’s really nice, he is, but…I just can’t calm down completely near him. I want to, but I can’t.”

Vladimir nods, “It is a predator and prey thing, something you only do not have with me because I am your first.” He stops here, but Ezreal’s slight confusion earns a small sigh and continued explanation, “Dmitri theorizes it works like that as a safety measure; bond to one, but stay the same to many. It ensures mates can remain close regardless of status difference, yet prevents many other creatures using that against us. You being so calm around me is completely natural.” Vladimir sits up and yawns, then shakes his head as if to rid himself of the drowsiness he must be feeling, “Anyway, you will never feel completely at ease with him, as you will never be completely mellow with me even if I am your first, and both have ways around how your feelings are tampered. It is a safety thing, and you will get used to it over time.” He smiles at Ezreal perking up a bit, “Oh, do not worry, we _will_ get in fights, we will hate each other, love each other, and no doubt hurt each other, but no matter what you will be drawn back eventually. My role is to protect you and make you happy, though you very well know I will also have moments where I make you angry, sad, or I try and tease you. It is by no means a cut and dry deal, Dmitri and I have squabbled just as many times as we have spoken kind words to each other.”

After this, both fall silent for awhile. Eventually, Ezreal speaks up, “So, if I tried really hard to ignore that mental block preventing me from being afraid as well as preventing me from being very angry with you, I would be able to see how I would normally act around you?”

Another nod, “Yes, but careful with that, as once you wish to ignore that ‘mental block,’ which is more just a calming effect not a block, preventing you from seeing me as your predator, you will _not_ be able to go back. I would suggest you let your body stay as it is.”

Ezreal looks to the ceiling, silence again taking the room aside from the shower and water sounds. He unsure on how to reply, but it seems Vladimir appears to be more interested in pulling the younger male to his side once again than offering any conversation. Ezreal happily allows this with no struggle at all, nuzzling his mate’s side and greatly enjoying the scent. He feels Vladimir’s hand lightly scratching his back and side in what feels to be a usual rubbing motion but with claws. Nothing more is said after Vladimir’s suggestion, however.

Again, and much later than he had expected, Ezreal is reminded about how exhausted he is…he hasn’t slept any more than three hours a day since turned, and this is if he is lucky, and often goes days with no sleep at all. He yawns, again clinging to his larger mate and snuggling up against him. Vladimir chuckles, sounding as if he is about to speak yet decides against it and instead continues his idle, and _very_ soothing action from before. Ezreal doesn’t even care to try and stop himself from uttering very low, and very tired purrs until he drifts to sleep.

Minutes go by and eventually Vladimir leaves to join Dmitri, but Ezreal is much too drowsy for this to bother him much. He shuffles further under the covers, using the very bottom of his pillow, and shudders; he hasn’t felt this good in a long, long time. The bed smells nice, _he_ smells nice for once, and he can somewhat relax. It’s still cold of course, but he manages to doze off again anyway.

Another few minutes and he can swear he hears his name being called in a singsong tune. Ezreal sniffs, then turns to try and sleep again, only to hear his name called yet again. Is that Dmitri? Dmitri never uses his name…he moves a bit then decides he probably should see what the landlord wants. He sits up and yawns, feeling a bit better even if he only slept a little while, then shakes himself awake. Just a little bit more and he can sleep as long as he wants.

He hops off the bed, his feet landing on the _freezing_ , wooden floor with a light thump. Ezreal hears Dmitri say something, but he can’t make it out over the shower’s loud noise as well as the water from said shower hitting the water at the bottom of the tub. What could Dmitri possibly want, anyway? He already had a snack, Vladimir is there to keep him company, and Ezreal was in the other room…he shrugs and rubs his eyes a few times to try and get his vision to be not so blurry. Man, he hates waking up sometimes.

It doesn’t take long to walk around the bed then get to the bathroom door, which he is slightly hesitant in opening before his mind finally clicks and remembers there _is_ a shower curtain, which they will have to prevent water from going everywhere. That in mind, Ezreal quietly turns the handle and pushes the door open; said door _has_ to squeak, but it’s not as loud as it could have been. It’s enough to make him flinch, but then again he isn’t even sure why he insists on being so quiet if he was called in the first place. Maybe he is doubtful? He _was_ half asleep after all and Dmitri never seems to use his name. Better safe than sorry, he guesses.

First thing he notices upon opening the door is how warm it is. He expected it to be slightly warmer, but the bathroom is a good few degrees more pleasant than outside this room. He holds in a contented sigh as he lightly pushes the door shut. A hushed click sounds as Ezreal backs away then turns to the tub. As expected, there is a curtain, which is a very nice, creamy white color. He fidgets then takes a deep breath, “Did you call me?”

Ezreal flinches at the small splash that sounds; he shouldn’t have tried sneaking in, he just startled one of them. Probably Vladimir since when Dmitri speaks up he is cheery as always, “Ah, yes, little one, I did. Come here, would you?”

…Why? He can hear perfectly fine from where he is standing. Ezreal shifts his weight from foot to foot, looking around their really clean and really quite nice bathroom then to the curtain again. Alright, fine, he’ll do this, but only because he wants to go back to sleep…and possibly a little, _tiny_ bit out of fear of disobeying orders. He shakes his head and walks forward, though very hesitantly, and focuses on the padding of his feet on tile until he stops at the edge of the curtain where wall meets cloth as well as the bathtub. Gingerly, he pulls the curtain aside and pokes his head in, noting the warmer feel on his skin-- oh, well then.

He should have expected those two would be close to each other, it’s not like they would be sitting a respectable distance and chatting back and forth. Nope, Vladimir has Dmitri in his lap, legs on either side of the other while both hands on and often rubbing Dmitri’s stomach or slightly lower, as he grooms his longtime mate with his tongue. He is focusing mostly on the shoulders, neck, and face, as to be expected. Meanwhile there is Dmitri, whom so is relaxed, back to Vladimir’s stomach and leisurely closing his eyes. He does occasionally tilt his head according to which side of his face is licked, but for the most part the older landlord stays still as if it were just him lying against the side of the tub.

The young creature can already feel his face heat up, and not just from the steam that water is creating…and _maybe_ not just his face. Vladimir is the first to notice as he glances up from his ‘work’ and gives Ezreal a smirk as he _purposefully_ draws out sliding his tongue from across Dmitri’s shoulder to cheek. Vladimir no doubt holds in a snicker when the young male averts his gaze and tugs on his shirt. “What do you want?”

Dmitri opens his eyes, his smile widening slightly after looking the boy over, “Nothing much, little one, I simply overlooked fetching my nightclothes before hopping in here. If you could be so kind as to go find those and bring them here I would be very thankful!” He pauses to close his eyes, making some sort of low humming noise, and arch his back against Vladimir, whom grins as if-- oh who is he kidding, of course Vladimir meant to do that. Dmitri sighs happily then returns to his previous sitting posture and opens his eyes, “Apologies. They should be in the first drawer on your right, black in color and smooth to the touch.”

He nods and is quick to leave the bathroom, trying to shake off that nagging urge to join his mates. Ezreal shudders; he dares not think of what Vladimir, or _both_ of them, would do to him. It doesn’t take a genius to note the ‘subtle’ hints Vladimir was sending his way, much less the smile-borderline-smirk Dmitri sent him after the landlord’s quick analysis of his posture and horribly reddened face. These beasts run a lot more on their breeding instinct than Ezreal had thought…then again, maybe it’s because he has never seen them alone.

It takes a few moments to figure out which drawer is _the_ drawer given there are a few, but he finds the nightgown soon enough. It is a simple black shirt and pants, oversized so they will likely be a bit baggy, even on Dmitri, but this is probably the point. He scoops up the folded clothing items and closes the drawer, then walks out the closet and is again sure to close that door as well before heading back into the warm bathroom. Oh it feels so much nicer in there, even if he refuses to join his mates.

The door clicks shut thanks to Ezreal’s foot pushing it a bit before walking forward, being careful to avoid the curtain, “Where do you want them?”

“Hm? Oh, right on the counter, my little one, and thank you!” A relaxed hum escapes Dmitri, though Ezreal is willing to bet it was probably due to something Vladimir did.

Ezreal shakes his head, fighting a blush once again, and sets the clothes down where requested. Just because he feels like it, he smoothes out the fabric a bit then backs away from it and walks toward the door-- “Come here, my dear.” a deeper voice purrs in what sounds like a mimicry of Dmitri’s occasional singsong tone. That…that wasn’t Dmitri.

He _really_ doesn’t want to go back over there, he’d much rather sleep or do just about anything else, but Ezreal complies and walks back over and pokes his head through the curtain. Both are in about the same positions as before, though this time Vladimir stops his cleaning work and speaks, “Good boy, my dear.” Another purr, which easily earns a shudder from Ezreal.

Dmitri laughs, seeming to ignore the fact Vladimir is lightly biting the landlord’s shoulder while brushing up against his back a few times yet smirking at Ezreal. Again, it doesn’t take a genius to see what _that_ mirrors. Ezreal averts his gaze, only looking again when Dmitri speaks, “That was unnecessary, my beloved, but I do appreciate the chance to speak with the little one again. That aside, little one, thank you again for helping me and you are much more than welcome to join us any time you would like! We would very much enjoy your company.” And that was what the boy knew was coming. Vladimir said tomorrow, not today, so it’s clear what his answer will be this time.

Another firm shake of the head, “No thanks, I’m just gonna go to sleep, I’m really, really tired. G’night!” Without even giving the other two a chance to reply, he rushes right out the door, closes it, then hops back onto the bed and burrows down into the same position he was when he fell asleep the first time. Well, minus Vladimir and the warmth, which the lack of is causing him to shake, but it’s better than joining those two while his own body keeps urging him to try and mount Vladimir due to the whole being nude thing and those glances and gestures and...he should stop thinking about it before this becomes a problem.

It takes awhile, but eventually he does manage to get back to sleep once again. His dreams are thankfully not sexual in nature, but they do have his new companions in them. Each one is not a nightmare but in fact very peaceful dreams often having to do with just lazing about. Needless to say this is a stark opposite to what he usually gets with dreams including those two.

There is one having to do with hunting alongside Dmitri, which of course isn’t exactly lazing about but not horrible either. Strangely, Ezreal wasn’t the least bit afraid aside from a few shudders here and there when Dmitri got too close. This dream is fine for awhile and Vladimir even shows up to join in after a few moments, but when Ezreal finds out their intended prey is humans he forces himself awake as swiftly as possible. That is close to earning a nightmare status, but he never actually hurts anyone so that saves it from being completely horrible. Even if he probably would have later…but he does his best to ignore this and returns to sleep.

That dream aside, the rest are lazy ones. Usually Dmitri is chatting away to either Vladimir or Ezreal while the largest landlord casually gnaws and sucks on some sort of bone, probably part of a femur, and Ezreal sits in one of their laps. Regardless of either which male he sits on, the youngest creature is always juggling between listening to them talk, occasionally pitching in himself, and nuzzling the one he is sitting on. Vladimir will often return the gesture swiftly and adjust the bone sticking from his mouth in such a way that suggests he wants Ezreal to try it, though _thankfully_ the smaller creature never does. Dmitri, on the other hand, often continues talking for awhile before hugging the one in his lap and returning the affectionate actions.

Others take place outside near that river, or inside their bathtub, though Vladimir happily busies himself with Dmitri so Ezreal is left alone to talk to the oldest landlord. He never can make out what is said in his dreams, but he knows for sure he and the others are happy…it gives him hope that _maybe_ this won’t be so bad, _maybe_ Vladimir has his calm moments and Ezreal won’t fear Dmitri so terribly much.

He is probably asleep about a half hour to an hour until he startles back awake, scrambling under the covers and nearly off the bed until grabbed and held. Vladimir hushes the younger creature, waiting until Ezreal’s breathing calms to actually release him. Once released, he pokes his head back out from under the covers and takes his place right next to Vladimir once again, though this time a bit easier seeing as Vlad is actually lying down normally rather than mostly sitting.

“You startle so easily.” Vladimir mumbles, eyes closed and likely focused more on trying to sleep than an actual conversation. Ezreal situates himself so his head rests mostly under his companion’s, which seems to earn a small smile for a moment. “For a solitary, _weak_ creature you really like to snuggle up to others stronger than yourself. You remind me of Dmitri, except his case is with weaker beings.”

Ezreal huffs, “I’m just cold, and you’re right here and really warm so why not?” okay, so that is a blatant lie. While he is cold, it isn’t the reason he enjoys being so close to Vladimir; for some reason, the larger creature’s comment just irks him. Truth be told it is just nice to have _someone_ around again. He’s been completely alone for over a year and, though his kind may be mostly solitary in nature, there are exceptions and he is one of them. Maybe it’s his human side…

Vladimir snickers, though it is more of a low grunting given the lack of effort put into his vocalizations, “In that case, remember what I said about Dmitri earlier.”

Now what does that have to do with anyth-- oh. Ezreal fidgets, but doesn’t reply due to the fact Dmitri finally joins the other two and takes his place right behind Ezreal. The young male shuffles a bit lower, remaining close to Vladimir even as he feels his second mate shifting behind him. He does his best to keep still, but…Vladimir’s suggestion does bother him. Should he go through with what his largest mate hinted at or should he just stay where he is for the night? Would Dmitri feel a bit better if he follows what Vladimir said to do? Why him, just why does it have to be him…

The young creature starts when Vladimir grunts at Dmitri for leaning over to kiss him, sounding quite annoyed with being kept up while he wants to sleep. Ezreal relaxes upon noting it was Dmitri, not him, being near growled at though _again_ ends up tensing when he feels Dmitri sniffing at the back of his neck then moving to kiss his cheek. Once that is done, Dmitri goes back to adjusting himself to his new sleeping arrangement.

For some reason or another, Ezreal ends up feeling guilty about the whole thing, probably because for one he’s sort of taken Dmitri’s likely sleeping position next to Vladimir, and probably because both the landlord’s mates just blew off his goodnight. Dmitri doesn’t seem the least bit upset, in fact he seems to have expected such and is still happy regardless, but…it just bugs Ezreal. Again, it must be his humanity as Vladimir doesn’t seem at all bothered. Well, now is a good of time as any to start his attempts to get used to Dmitri.

After one deep breath and a lot of shifting about, Ezreal manages to turn himself around and cling to Dmitri, both arms around and even one leg over the other. His mate makes a bit of a surprised sound and feels as if he _really_ didn’t expect it to the point of tensing up, which Ezreal of course finds heavily ironic, but Dmitri immediately works out what is going on and relaxes. The larger creature utters a low purr, shifting only a few more times after this in order to keep near Vladimir as well. Ezreal is, of course, shaking the slightest amount but not nearly as much as he thought he would be. He is actually calm despite the involuntary trembling, most of which is probably the cold anyway.

Vladimir makes another strange sound, though he sounds a bit happier this time, then moves to rest his head next to Dmitri’s, which places Ezreal between the two, and mutter something so quietly it almost sounds like another language. Then again, it’s likely those two know a few more than just what Ezreal uses. It feels like Dmitri kisses Vladimir in response, the vibrations from his chest suggesting he is laughing as well. Ezreal opens his eyes to look at both males the best he can, as his head is resting mostly under Dmitri’s and moving back sets it under Vladimir’s; both appear to glance at him then look to each other a moment before both settle down again to try and sleep.

Ezreal blinks a few times in confusion but doesn’t bother asking. He is faintly aware that Vladimir has an arm resting over him and likely Dmitri as well; this is probably another protective display. Whatever it is, feeling Vladimir behind him while he clings to Dmitri in front of him is surprisingly calming, and very warm…so much so he doesn’t take long to start drifting to sleep.

For the first time in what feels like forever, Ezreal can say for certain he feels warm, comfortable, and completely safe.


End file.
